ThunderClan Chronicles
by jamuca
Summary: Elder apprentices Ivypaw and Weedpaw are ordinary cats. Or so they think. Every cat has a destiny and choices they can make. One can lead to love and life, one to desperation and death. Which one will they choose?
1. Allegiences & Prologue

AN: This first chapter is mostly just the allegiences (obviously). At the bottom you can see the actual start of my story. R&R ;P

Disclaimer: I do not own warriors, that is the sole property of Erin Hunter, I do however own my own original characters which happens to be this entire cast. Thank you Erin Hunter for allowing this to be possible.

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><p><strong>Clan Chronicles- ThunderClan<strong>

Allegiences

**ThunderClan:**

Leader:

_Finchstar_ gray-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy:

_Torneye_ black tom with one amber eye

Medicine Cat:

_Woodflower_ tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice-_ Mistwind_

Warriors:

_Lizardtail_ sandy-brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Apprentice- _Tawnypaw_

_Toadleap_ brown tabby tom with green eyes

_Gorseheart_ long-haired dark brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentice- _Cloudpaw_

_Hazelstorm_ golden-brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

_Foxnose_ ginger tabby tom with white tail-tip and amber eyes

Apprentice- _Weedpaw_

_Birchleaf_ brown tabby tom with white stripes and green eyes

Apprentice- _Ivypaw_

_Fogwhisker_ blue-gray tom with amber eyes

_Pondripple_ silver tabby she-cat with green eyes

_Minnowclaw_ blue-gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

_Hollyclaw_ long-haired brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Apprentices:

_Mistwind_ light gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes; medicine cat apprentice

_Weedpaw_ long-haired dark brown tabby tom with green eyes

_Ivypaw_ sandy-gray tabby she-cat with green eyes

_Cloudpaw_ white she-cat with blue eyes

_Tawnypaw_ ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Queens:

_Echowhisper_ long-haired silver tabby she-cat with blue eyes; oldest nursery queen

_Russetwing_ dark ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Kits- _Redkit, Patchkit_

_Dappleheart_ ginger-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

Kits:

_Redkit_ bright ginger tabby tom with blue eyes

_Patchkit_ tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

Elders:

_Halfear_ white tom with blue eyes and is deaf in one ear; oldest cat in ThunderClan

_Dirtpelt_ dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

_Honeyflower_ golden-brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

**ShadowClan:**

Leader:

_Heatherstar_ brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Deputy:

_Beesting_ golden tabby tom with very dark stripes and amber eyes

Medicine Cat:

_Antspeckle_ small black tom with amber eyes

Warriors:

_Breezelegs_ smoky gray tabby tom with amber eyes

_Skywing_ gray-and-white tom with blue eyes

Apprentice- _Jaypaw_

_Tigermask_ red-brown tabby tom with white stripes and amber eyes

Apprentice- _Sandpaw_

_Speckledleaf_ brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

_Fernwhisker_ light brown tabby she-cat with darker paws and green eyes

_Buntingflight_ dark brown tabby tom with white paws and green eyes

_Dawnheart_ dark ginger tabby she-cat with blue eyes

_Pineclaw_ dark ginger tabby tom with green eyes

Apprentices:

_Jaypaw_ long-haired gray tabby tom with blue eyes

_Sandpaw_ golden tabby she-cat with gray paws and amber eyes

Queens:

_Rosestem_ pinkish-gray tabby she-cat with green eyes

Kits- _Leopardkit, Graykit, Brackenkit, Featherkit_

_Poppywhisker_ long-haired red-brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Kits:

_Leopardkit_ gray tabby she-cat with white paws and blue eyes

_Graykit_ pinkish-gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes

_Brackenkit_ brown tabby tom with green eyes

_Featherkit_ pinkish-gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Elders:

_Lichenstone_ gray-and-white she-cat with green eyes; former ShadowClan leader

_Brooktail_ long-haired dark gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

_Spiderwhisker_ dark brown tabby tom with black stripes and amber eyes

_Shrubfur_ long-haired gray-and-white tom with amber eye

**RiverClan:**

Leader:

_Spottedstar_ speckled brown tom with green eyes

Deputy:

_Grass-stripe_ brown tabby tom with gray stripes and green eyes

Medicine Cat:

_Snailswirl_ cream-and-gray she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentice- _Shrewpaw_

Warriors:

_Ambereye_ dark brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

_Mossthorn_ brown-and-white tom with green eyes

Apprentice- _Firepaw_

_Splotchleaf_ brown-and-white she-cat with green eyes

_Twist-tail_ tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentice- _Wasppaw_

_Splashwing_ black-and-white tom with blue eyes

_Petalwind_ gray tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentice- _Wildpaw_

_Aspenclaw_ light gray tabby tom with green eyes

_Buzzardflight_ light gray tabby tom with amber eyes

_Duskfall_ dark ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentice- _Berrypaw_

_Blossomheart_ ginger-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

_Blizzardstorm_ white tom with blue eyes

_Driftcloud_ white she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentices:

_Wasppaw_ small sandy-gray tabby tom with darker stripes and amber eyes

_Berrypaw_ small creamy-gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes

_Shrewpaw_ small sandy-gray tom with amber eyes

_Firepaw_ long-haired bright ginger tabby tom with amber eyes

_Wildpaw_ long-haired bright ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Elders:

_Crowheart_ black tom with amber eyes

**WindClan:**

Leader:

_Guststar_ long-haired gray tabby tom with amber eyes

Deputy:

_Fawnpelt_ speckled brown she-cat with lighter spots and green eyes

Medicine Cat:

_Darkwhisper_ black she-cat with blue eyes

Apprentice- _Swanpaw_

Warriors:

_Rushwind_ ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes

_Yellowclaw_ golden tabby she-cat with amber eyes

Apprentice- _Swallowpaw_

_Goosefur_ speckled brown tabby tom with amber eyes

Apprentice- _Copperpaw_

_Ripplestorm_ long-haired gray tabby she-cat with amber eyes

_Blackwing_ long-haired black tom with green eyes

_Badgerleap_ black-and-white tom with amber eyes

Apprentices:

_Swanpaw_ white she-cat with amber eyes

_Copperpaw_ ginger tabby tom with amber eyes

_Swallowpaw_ dark gray tabby she-cat with green eyes

Queens:

_Mallowheart_ brown-and-white she-cat with amber eyes

Kits- _Lilykit, Duckkit_

Kits:

_Lilykit_ cream-and-brown she-cat with green eyes

_Duckkit_ speckled brown tabby tom with green eyes

Elders:

_Hollowreed_ brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

_Lionwind_ long-haired golden tabby tom with amber eyes

**SkyClan:**

Leader:

_Bearstar_ large dark brown tabby tom with lighter paws and amber eyes

Deputy:

_Fenpelt_ dark brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Apprentice: _Dewpaw_

Medicine Cat:

_Frozenclaw_ white tom with blue eyes

Apprentice: _Wetpaw_

Warriors:

_Fangcrest_ long-haired black tom with green eyes

Apprentice: _Flypaw_

_Vulturebeak_ dark gray tabby tom with amber eyes

_Crouchshadow_ black she-cat with green eyes

_Webstep_ light brown tabby tom with blue eyes

_Crookedbeak_ light gray tabby tom with blue eyes

Apprentice: _Beetlepaw_

_Fanwhisker_ long-haired brown tabby tom with green eyes

_Wheatfur_ long-haired pale ginger tabby she-cat with amber eyes

_Plumheart_ dark ginger tabby she-cat with green eyes

Apprentices:

_Wetpaw_ speckled brown tom with blue eyes

_Flypaw_ large dark brown tabby tom with green eyes

_Dewpaw_ speckled gray she-cat with blue eyes

_Beetlepaw_ large black tom with amber eyes

Queens:

_Quickriver_ black-and-white she-cat with blue eyes

Kits- _Barkkit, Scurrykit, Mousekit_

Kits:

_Barkkit_ brown tabby tom with amber eyes

_Scurrykit_ black-and-white tom with amber eyes

_Mousekit_ brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes

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><p><strong>-Prologue-<strong>

Washed light from the void sky shone an eerie glow down on the dark forest. It filtered through the dense growth of pines and ferns and slanted down, dappled, onto the matted gray pelt of a tomcat.

He perched on a sharp-sided rock, washing his face in the gray light.

"Weedstripe?" two cats slinked out from one of the sparser clumps of ferns, their paws making a squishing sound as they padded on the marshy ground.

"What is it?" the cat they called Weedstripe hissed. "Moonshadow and… I don't know you, do I?"

The cat stepped forward. "Tawnyclaw, at your ser-"

Weedstripe lashed his tail. "Don't care!" Tawnyclaw flattened his ears and shrunk back to where the other cat was. "Is this your idea of a mate, sister? Why have you come?"

Now Moonshadow stepped forward. She gazed slyly at the tomcat on the rock. "Come here, brother," Weedstripe narrowed his eyes and, much to the surprise of the third party, obliged.

"Sister? You know I do not like to be bothered when I am brooding,"

"Brooding? Is that what you were doing? It looked like you were being lazy-" she didn't have much time to get out of the way of her brother's cuff. His claws were unsheathed and they raked her already torn ear. But she didn't show any signs of being feeble; this was the place for fallen evil, and members of this solitary realm did not show weakness.

"I hope you're determined to answer me this time…" Weedstripe said to her slowly, in a low growl. "Why have you come? What have you to tell me?"

"I know your misstep with the leader of SkyClan, and I know a cat that can help,"

Interest sparked in Weedstripe's glowing amber eyes. "Who? Who would help a killer?"

"I know a cat named Weedpaw. He will get the job done."

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><p>AN: Well there you have it... first chappie! Not much but I'd like to see what you think!<p> 


	2. Chapter 1: Badgers!

AN: Here's the first chapter. I really don't have much to say except to R&R (again)!

BTW: Not sure if the summary is any good. I personally think it's kind of sappy. However, it was the best I could come up with in the three min. I had to write it. ;)

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><p>The warrior's ears twitched as the shadowy figure crept silently towards him. He whipped around, only to find nothing there. He caught a whiff of the young cat's scent but was unable to follow it in the dense warmth of the greenleaf air. Suddenly, he tensed and whipped around once more, only to pounced upon by a sandy-gray tabby, whose hackles were raised and neck fur bristling.<p>

"Oof!" the warrior exclaimed as the she-cat landed square on his shoulders.

"Got you!" the young she-cat replied triumphantly.

"Alright, Ivypaw, get off, you great lump!" the two cats tussled on the ground for a moment until they heard a crack of a dry leaf behind them. Quickly the pair dislodged from each other and stood, shaking off sand from their pelts. A tall, proud looking gray-and-white she-cat stood gazing at the two cats with a glint of amusement in her eyes.

"Oh, uh, hello Finchstar," the warrior bowed his head to his leader in embarrassment. Ivypaw quickly followed suit.

"Are you two going to play all day? Birchleaf," she addressed the warrior "when you told me you were going to give Ivypaw some extra battle training, I thought you meant for real," the moment of amusement faded from her eyes. "Anyway, I have some bad news. Come on; let's get back to camp, both of you," the two cats followed their leader back to the ThunderClan camp. When they got their, Torneye, the Clan's deputy, peered at the arrivals through his one eye. The Clan had already assembled at the foot of the Highrock in anticipation of their leader's announcement.

Finchstar made it up the rock in two bounds and stood at the peak of it, holding her tail up for silence.

"Cats of ThunderClan, I have troubling news. Toadleap's patrol today was chased by a band of badgers, two parents and a few adolescents. No cat was hurt, but I want all cats to stay away from Snakerocks. That's where they've made their set," Finchstar let her Clan grumble about this for a few moments.

"We'll have to chase them out!"

"When are we going to attack?"

"They'll be taking our prey!" Finchstar raised her tail again for silence.

"We can't attack yet. Not until we know how many badgers are there. This leads me to my second point… I'll be going there today to scout the area and I want Toadleap, Birchleaf, and Ivypaw with me," Ivypaw gaped at her leader as she spoke her name.

"But she's only an apprentice!" cried her mother, Gorseheart. Ivypaw's father, Lizardtail, crossed her mouth with his sandy-gray tail.

"She's almost a warrior, she can handle this,"

"Then it's settled then," Finchstar's continuation on the problem led Ivypaw's attention from her parent's quarrel back to her leader. "Let's go. Torneye, you're in charge here," the patrol of four raced out of the camp. It felt like moons until they reached Snakerocks.

Finchstar swished her tail, signaling to the others to follow her. They crept around a large oak tree and hid in a clump of bracken.

Ivypaw's eyes widened as she saw a huge animal stir inside a deep crevice in the pile of rocks. As it climbed out of the recession, Ivypaw recognized it as a badger; it wasn't hard to recognize one.

"That's the female, isn't it?" Finchstar muttered to Toadleap. He replied with a nod and pointed with his tail to a shadowy cave on the side of the rocks. A thin layer of lichen draped the entrance, but Ivypaw could tell that it was occupied. Suddenly, a growl emerged from it and the moss parted to allow a much larger badger to exit the set.

"And that's the male," Toadleap said with disgust. Ivypaw watched through even wider eyes as four younger badgers climbed out of the cave.

"Four cubs?" Birchleaf murmured. "A mother usually only has two. And she usually doesn't allow the male to live with her," the cats watched until the badger family dragged out three pieces of prey.

"Well, I think we've seen enough," Finchstar carefully backed out of the bracken and led the other three away from the badger set.

"How are we going to take on that?" Ivypaw asked timidly. Finchstar glanced at each of the cats in turn, ending with Ivypaw.

"I'll strategize with the senior warriors when we get back," it only took a fraction of the time to return to camp that it did getting to Snakerocks: the cats were running now. When they returned, Torneye greeted them warily.

"How many young do they have?" Finchstar looked him in the eye.

"Four,"

"Four!" Torneye's single eye widened. Finchstar padded into the middle of the camp.

"Senior warriors, in my den!" Toadleap and Lizardtail padded after Torneye and Finchstar into Finchstar's den and were quickly followed by Gorseheart and her sister, Hazelstorm.

"We'll just have to wait now," mewed Birchleaf idly "Why don't you go eat. You haven't eaten anything since this morning." It was then that Ivypaw noticed the change in the sun's position.

"Alright," she shrugged and padded away. As she crouched to eat her shrew, Patchkit came bumbling over.

"Did you really see a badger?" she asked excitedly. Redkit trotted over more slowly.

"We hear that their as big as trees, and they have claws sharper than a wolf's!" Ivypaw choked down her bite of shrew and suppressed a _mrrow_ of laughter.

"No, their not as big as trees," she mewed politely "but they're about the same size as a wolf. And tougher too," Redkit eyed her skeptically.

"What's tougher than a wolf?"

"A badger," the kits' mother had appeared on silent paws. "Come along, kits. I'm sure Ivypaw wants to eat in peace," Russetwing turned and led her kits back into the nursery, where outside, Echowhisper and Dappleheart shared tongues in the evening light.

In a way, Russetwing was right. Ivypaw was famished; however, a part of her felt empty as she watched the pair of curious, and now-dejected, kits walk away. Her sorrow was short-lived as she finished her shrew and padded over to her brother.

"Hi, Weedpaw," she greeted him. He looked up from his paws, which he had been flexing, and ever-so-slightly narrowed his eyes. "What's wrong?"

"You should know. You always get to do things, and I've never even seen a cat from another Clan, except at Gatherings!" Ivypaw was taken aback, though it was true. Weedpaw had never been in a battle before, while Ivypaw had been in two border skirmishes with SkyClan and RiverClan. And now she had gone to check on the badgers. Ivypaw glared stubbornly and whirled around to walk around the camp.

"What was that about?" Birchleaf's voice brought Ivypaw back out of her haze of anger.

"Oh, Weedpaw's just angry because I'm always the one does the exciting things," Birchleaf nodded in understanding.

"That used to happen with me and Foxnose," he referred to his brother, which also happened to be Weedpaw's mentor. "Must be something that can be passed on from mentor to apprentice," he said with a note of amusement in his voice. Ivypaw snorted good-naturedly and sat up to stretch when Finchstar and the senior warriors exited her den. Finchstar stood straight and yowled:

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a Clan meeting!" instantly, Patchkit and, much more calmly, Redkit raced out from the nursery and stood, trembling with unspent energy, barely three mouse-lengths away from Finchstar.

"Neither of you are old enough to catch your own prey," Echowhisper herded the kits back to Russetwing. After the distraction was over and the entire Clan had gathered to here what their leader had decreed, Finchstar announced her conclusion to the badger problem.

"The badgers are a serious threat to our prey. I have chosen the following cats to launch a surprise attack on the badgers; Torneye, Hazelstorm, Gorseheart, Lizardtail, Foxnose, Pondripple, Fogwhisker, Hollyclaw, Cloudpaw, Tawnypaw, and Weedpaw. We attack at dawn tomorrow," the camp was buzzing with excitement at the coming battle. Although Ivypaw was disappointed that she wasn't chosen, she was happy for her brother. He was obviously happy too, for he bounced around his sister until she saw him off to get some sleep in the apprentices' den.

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><p>AN: I realize that this first chapter may have been confusing, since I didn't actually spend much time on it and it went by pretty fast... I wrote it a while ago and didn't really want to change anything. Yay laziness! Also, the Clan cats in the canon series never mention wolves (and I doubt they know about them), but since I already put that in in this chapter, the cats now know about it!<p> 


	3. Chapter 2: Badger Attack

AN: Wow, sorry again about the lack of length to this chapter. I also think that this chap. goes by rather fast. It will get better, that I promise.

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><p>Weedpaw's long, dark fur almost tripped him up as he loosely circled the camp in anticipation.<p>

"Weedpaw! Quit bumbling around, or we might mistake you for a confused badger!" Foxnose yelled across the clearing. Weedpaw heeded his mentor's words and stuck close to his side until Finchstar emerged from her den.

"Toadleap, you're in charge," she barked and raced out of camp, the patrol of eleven cats on her heels. _Why is she bringing so many cats?_ Weedpaw asked himself, _is she not confident in us?_

It wasn't until the patrol reached Snakerocks that Weedpaw realized why so many cats had been chosen to fight. The badgers were huge! They were about three times the size of an adult cat, and about four times the size of an apprentice. Even the cubs were about twice the size of Foxnose.

Weedpaw was frozen in sudden nervousness for his first battle. He jumped when Finchstar threw her battle-cry into the air:

"ThunderClan, attack!" Weedpaw ran out with Cloudpaw and Tawnypaw flanking him. This would be Tawnypaw's first battle, and although Cloudpaw had seen a battle skirmish before, she hadn't fought. The three apprentices leaped on a young female badger and covered it in scratches. The enraged mother attempted to free its young from the coat of Clan cats, but was stopped by Finchstar and Torneye.

Weedpaw rolled to one side and dodged a clumsy blow from the badger. He reared up once he had recovered from the roll and swiped at the badger's nose. He drew blood from the very tip and the badger growled slightly.

Then he noticed Cloudpaw and Tawnypaw skirting around it. He swiped his paws wildly in front of the young badger to distract it, and even caught the side of its snout again. That's when Cloudpaw jumped on its tail and Tawnypaw on its haunches.

But reveling in the success of the attack, Weedpaw was unprepared for the slash the badger threw as it reared back in pain.

The blow struck him. Hard.

Weedpaw, dizzy and uncoordinated, covered in dirt and sneezing dust, attempted to stand, only to be brought down again as the badger fell partially on his shoulder. His head spun and he could clearly hear the thumping of his heartbeat in his ears. Through narrowing eyes, he could make out the shadowy shapes of his parents, and the bright red blob that he figured was Foxnose. Gorseheart crept over to him and spoke into his ear, while Lizardtail and Foxnose brought down the badger along with Cloudpaw and Tawnypaw.

"Weedpaw, my little kit…" she whispered desperately. Then his hearing failed and he fell into unconsciousness. The last thing his mind registered was the spray of blood as Lizardtail took the badger's life.

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><p>AN: Hope you enjoyed. More to come! Remember ot review!<p> 


	4. Chapter 3: A Worried Sister

AN: Okay, so discussing the stupidness of the name of this story- I originally planned to make a story highlighting two apprentices from each Clan. Unsure if that is still the plan. If so then the storylines would become rather repetitive. Anyways, if so, then each one would be named "Clan Chronicles- _Clan", thusly the stupid name I gave this story. Wow, I don't really know where I was going with that... :|

PS: I need reviews!

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><p>Ivypaw paced the camp perimeter, awaiting the return of the battle patrol. Birchleaf and Minnowclaw sat at the entrance to the camp, and Toadleap was crouched in the shadow of the Highrock. Echowhisper was seated in the opening to the nursery. She was the oldest nursery queen. She turned at the sound of a Russetwing's meow and left her post to retrieve a mouse from the fresh-kill pile. Meanwhile, the medicine cat, Woodflower, and her apprentice, Mistwind, were inconspicuous through the thick fern walls of the medicine cat clearing. Ivypaw could barely make out their voices.<p>

"Poppy seed is used for…?" Woodflower was quizzing Mistwind on herb uses.

"Relieving pain and as a sleeping aid,"

"Very good… what about marigold?"

"Prevents infections and allows the wound to heal faster,"

"How do you apply it?"

"Lick the wound clean, then chew into a poultice and apply,"

"Excellent, now what do you do for a broken leg?" Ivypaw didn't hear Mistwind's answer. She was about halfway to the other side of the camp now, and far out of earshot. Once, when she was a tiny kit, she remembered she had wanted to pursue the life of a medicine cat. But all she could think of now was guarding the serene elements of her Clan. The innocent cats.

She inhaled the greenleaf air deeply and caught the tangy scent of blood. Sensing it too, Woodflower and Mistwind exited their den and waited, mouths full of various herbs, for the warriors to return from battle.

"Birchleaf, the warriors are returning!" Ivypaw shouted across the clearing. Her happiness faded quickly as she saw Lizardtail and Foxnose carrying her brother through the thorn entrance. Behind her she heard her mentor's voice-

"Woodflower!" but the medicine cat was already racing towards Lizardtail and Foxnose and the unconscious lump of fur between them.

"Hurry, take him in here," Woodflower led them inside her den. "Mistwind, take care of the others," Ivypaw saw Gorseheart and tried to decide whether or not to talk to her. She looked very aggravated at the injury of her son, and the other queens were trying to comfort her, so she decided against it.

"Ivypaw!" Tawnypaw's high-pitched sounded behind her, and she turned to look at her denmate. Cloudpaw was there too.

"What happened?"

"Well, we were attacking one of the badgers, and Weedpaw was there too, and he was distracting it so we could jump on it and he never saw its paw coming down. I'm sorry, I tried to warn him but it was too late. Then, when the badger fell, it fell down on top of him. I'm sorry, I tried to warn him, but…"

"Its okay Tawnypaw, I don't blame you," Tawnypaw nodded solemnly in return. "What happened then?" now Cloudpaw spoke.

"Then, your father killed it as it got back up, and then he and Foxnose carried him all the way back to camp." Just as Cloudpaw was finishing, Finchstar called all cats to the clearing. All of Ivypaw's clanmates were present, except Woodflower, Mistwind, and, of course, Weedpaw. Lizardtail and Foxnose came quietly out of the medicine cats' den.

"Cats of ThunderClan, we have become victorious over the badgers today!" a few cats cheered. "They have been driven out, and thanks to those apprentices who went and to Lizardtail, those badgers now know not to trifle with the cats of ThunderClan!" even more cats cheered. "However, the cost was terrible- Weedpaw has been struck by a badger's blow and is now in the medicine cat's den, unconscious. Tonight, as we feast, we will pray to StarClan that they will not to take this young cat's life," Finchstar bounded down from the summit of the Highrock as the returning warriors took first pick at their celebratory dinner. Ivypaw padded over to her father.

"How is he?" Lizardtail look down at her.

"Still unconscious. Woodflower isn't sure how long it'll take for him to wake up,"

"If he wakes up…" Ivypaw whispered. Her father wrapped his tabby-striped tail around her and rested his chin comfortingly on her head.

"He'll be alright, I know it."

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><p>AN: Phew, another chappie down!<p> 


	5. Chapter 4: A Land Darker than the Rest

AN: Ugh! I have got to start making longer chappies... and I have to stop saying that

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><p>Darkness crept around Weedpaw. His fur was plastered down as he stood. At first he wondered if he had merely fallen asleep in a bad storm, but suddenly remembered the battle with the badgers that he had endured.<p>

"Where am I?" he wondered out loud. This forest was of no territory Weedpaw had seen. It was a land darker than the rest, and it reminded him what his parents had told him of ShadowClan territory, only he could smell no familiar scent, bar the scent of decay. But no cat scent. Just eerie nothingness. Even the sky was devoid of stars, but it was as black as night and Weedpaw could make out no shapes of clouds. A grayish green fog, like one that would roll onto a nighttime fen, surrounded the base of the trees.

Weedpaw suppressed a chill.

"Where am I?" he wondered again, in a whisper.

"This is the Dark Forest, the Place of No Stars, the land of the cats you'd rather forget," a whispery voice sounded behind him. Weedpaw whipped around, and a shadowy shape stood, with twin amber eyes glaring, in the midst of a rather forbidding blackberry bush.

"I'll admit, I've thought of StarClan before, but never like this…" Weedpaw stopped as the dark cat stepped out and gave a bone-chilling, rusty laugh, one that echoed off from the fog that swept around the dark cat's paws. His fur was a matted mass of ash-gray fur and was covered in dark tabby stripes. A long scar ran down his flank. Another one ran across his face, past his fiery amber eyes, along his muzzle, resting at the peak of his snout.

"This is no land where StarClan walk," he hissed, wispy as a snake, but holding a great amount of menace behind it. It was in no ill-will that Weedpaw strongly distrusted this cat. "Those fools who hold on to their own weaknesses, they have no place here. This is where the cats they fear, the cats that made them realize how weak they really are, live now. Condemned by their former clanmates, and walking alone. StarClan's own fear made them put us away, yes, young cat; they fear us as though they are the very prey we once stalked and we are ready to pounce. They want our strength, and envy our cunning. When I was an apprentice, I fell unconscious in my first battle too, and came here the first time. You know, you have thoroughly piqued my interest: you have the strength I had, but you don't use it…" somewhere, a howl arose. But an unusual one, not one of a dog, but one of a cat in terrible pain, perhaps despair. "This is where you must be sent back, Weedpaw. Remember, use your strength- you won't regret it," he hissed into Weedpaw's ear.

"Who are you?" Weedpaw asked as the cat turned around to leave. He stopped and, without turning, barely above a whisper, he spoke his name.

"I am Weedstripe," the surroundings faded from Weedpaw's view. Soon all he saw was white.

"Weedpaw? Weedpaw? Woodflower, I think he's waking up!" Weedpaw's ears were assaulted by Mistwind's excitedly shrill voice. _Was that a dream? It felt so real…_ Weedpaw's mind wandered back to the Dark Forest and the evil-looking cat he'd met, the one that had once been named Weedpaw.

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><p>AN: I hope you think this story has potential because I have already planned out the entire storyline. It's not going anywhere! ;)<p> 


	6. Chapter 5: A Changed Brother

AN: Ugh... too damn short! Sorry about language.

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><p>"I hear that Foxnose wants to continue Weedpaw's training today," Birchleaf was scrunched down in a tiny patch of sunshine that had somehow managed to break through the thick layer of clouds up above.<p>

"Really?" Ivypaw drawled sarcastically. She'd heard from at least three other cats about how Weedpaw was going to be taken out for his first training session in almost four days.

"You don't sound particularly happy," Ivypaw sighed.

"Well naturally, I am ecstatic that Weedpaw is back, but he seems different," Ivypaw was talking to her mentor.

"Really? He seems the same to me," Ivypaw was shocked. How did he not notice the broad change in Weedpaw's attitude? Is that what happened when you became fully grown? No, Ivypaw would not play the age card in this case. After all, even her fellow apprentices hadn't said anything to her about her brother.

Ivypaw sighed.

"Yeah, well I know that something has changed with him, and I'm going to find out what," Ivypaw padded away from her mentor and over to where Weedpaw was being dismissed by Woodflower.

"Well, tell him that Foxnose is looking for him,"

"Hey, Ivypaw," Weedpaw greeted his sister and pushed his nose into her flank. "I missed you," now Ivypaw was sure that something was up with her brother.

"Yeah, I missed you too," she responded and returned the greeting, pressing her nose into his long fur and drinking in his familiar scent. It was true after all; she had missed him terribly while he had been staying in the medicine cat's den. Ivypaw didn't know what to say, and after a few moments, Weedpaw broke the silence.

"So…" he said awkwardly. Ivypaw didn't like this. Usually, her brother would be play-fighting with her or chasing her around the camp, despite their being senior apprentices. "Ivypaw?" Ivypaw shook herself, not realizing that she had made an obviously distracted face.

"Oh, right, well… it's just that… after you woke up, you seemed really different,"

"Different? How?" Weedpaw met her concerned eyes with his puzzled ones.

"Well, I don't know, you just aren't as outgoing as you were," Weedpaw snorted.

"Yeah, well I just woke up from a three-day sleep," Ivypaw could feel the hurt weigh in her heart. Yes, something had definitely changed in her brother.

"Alright, well I think that Foxnose is looking for you so…"

"Okay thanks," Weedpaw watched his sister turning to leave. "Hey," Ivypaw turned back. "I'll see you around. Maybe we can go hunting later?" _Apology accepted,_ Ivypaw thought.

"Maybe."


	7. Chapter 6: Kitsitting

AN: Yay! I finally made a longer chapter! Good for me! Now you just have to enjoy it ;)

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><p>"Excellent catch, Weedpaw!" Weedpaw purred triumphantly as he carried his squirrel over to his mentor. "Well, I think that's enough hunting for today," even though there were reports of SkyClan stealing prey from their territory, Weedpaw couldn't agree more. They'd been hunting all day, and he'd successfully caught a mouse and the squirrel. His mentor, however, had caught twice the load that Weedpaw had- three mice and a vole. Together, they had enough to restock the missing prey in their fresh-kill pile.<p>

"Thanks, Foxnose," Weedpaw returned. The pair revisited where they'd buried their catches and made their way back to the ThunderClan camp, mouths full of prey.

"Wow, mom! Look at the prey they caught! Someday, I'll be able to hunt like that!" Weedpaw couldn't help but let out a _mrrow_ of amusement at Patchkit's comment as he strode into camp.

"Hmmm, I bet you will," Russetwing replied to her daughter's comment sleepily and lay down in a patch of sun. Weedpaw couldn't believe she'd actually get any sleep, so he set his mind on watching her kits after he put his prey in the fresh-kill pile. He tossed his prey on the pile and approached the ginger tabby queen.

"Hello, Russetwing," The exhausted-looking queen opened one tired eye.

"Oh, hello, Weedpaw,"

"I realized that you probably won't get much sleep with your kits bumbling about, so I was going to ask you if you'd like me to watch them while you rested."

"Oh, well, Weedpaw, you don't have to- I could get Echowhisper or Dappleheart to do it," Weedpaw thought back to how rotund Dappleheart looked the day before. She was fairly close to kitting, and Weedpaw didn't want her to have to deal with Patchkit and Redkit. He stole a quick glance across the camp and noticed that Echowhisper was lying in a patch of shade. The old she-cat was almost an elder, and he didn't want her to have to deal with the two young cats either.

"No, I don't mind, really! And I don't think that Foxnose wants me for some time," Russetwing mulled it over for a few moments.

"Alright, but if they give you any trouble, you wake me,"

"Okay. Come on, Patchkit, Redkit… we're gonna give your mother a rest and go play over here, okay?" The two kits were play-fighting and tumbled dangerously close to their mother. "Okay?" Weedpaw pressed.

"Alright," Redkit squeaked. Weedpaw led the two kits to the middle of the camp.

"Weedpaw, show us how to hunt," Patchkit asked. The two kits pleaded until Weedpaw finally said 'yes', just as long as Finchstar or Torneye found out he was training kits.

"Alright, pretend that that stick there is a mouse, or even better, a SkyClan cat who has just stolen some prey-"

"That's a tiny warrior!" Patchkit mused. Weedpaw silenced her with his tail.

"Fine, we'll stick with mouse! Anyway, lower yourself to the ground… that's it, remember to keep your tail down, but not touching the ground, Patchkit." He quickly corrected the young kit's tail. "There… and creep forward, without bobbing up and down, Redkit! That mouse would've seen you by now and you would've lost your meal! Now be sure to keep your weight even on all four paws. Patchkit, I don't think you know how much noise you're making," Weedpaw lowered himself into the hunter's crouch and prepared to spring at the stick. "Now once you're close enough, you slowly raise your haunches into the air, and make sure that you have enough power, and then…" Weedpaw leaped forward with all of the power he could muster and landed squarely on the stick.

"I wanna try!" both kits squealed simultaneously. Weedpaw watched silently as both kits tried repeatedly to do what he'd done.

"Wow, you're good with kits," Weedpaw jumped at the voice, though he recognized it almost instantly afterwards as the voice of Hollyclaw. Though his fur was much darker, the brown tabby she-cat had long fur, just like him, and green eyes, similar to his. However, her green eyes were covered in unusual brown flecks and her tail-tip was bathed in white fur, just like her father's, who also happened to be Weedpaw's mentor. Weedpaw opened his mouth to voice his thanks, but was interrupted. "Though, you could be a little easier on them… when you righted their wrongs, they looked about to wail,"

"Well, then I'll try to remember that the next time I volunteer to watch kits," the she-cat hummed thoughtfully.

"Well, I'd best be going. I'm leading a hunting patrol. I was going to ask you if you wanted to come, but it looks like you're busy,"

"I would, but you're right, I have a lot to deal with right now," Weedpaw gazed over at the two kits, attempting to wrestle the other on the ground.

"And it looks like you've been hunting enough today," Weedpaw knew she was surveying his and Foxnose's rather impressive catch. "But maybe we can train together later today," Weedpaw looked at her hopeful expression. It had been so long since they'd done anything as friends.

"I'll see," Hollyclaw's crestfallen look brought a wave of guilt to wash over Weedpaw, though he couldn't bring himself to apologize.

"Alright, bye." He thought back to the conversation with his sister just two days ago. He felt stronger, strangely, more mature. But empty, hollow. He needed a task. An not an idle one such as watching kits.

"Bye,"_ Ivypaw was right, something is different about me._


	8. Chapter 7: Invasion Part 1

AN: This was possibly one of the funnest chapters I ever wrote. Ya'lls better be nice to it! ;)

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><p>The moisture-less, leaf-fall air greeted Ivypaw as she stretched and flexed her claws. She gazed quietly at her brother, still sleeping, and decided to let him rest. Though it had been a whole moon since the battle, she still didn't believe Weedpaw was back to his normal self. As she padded silently out of the apprentice's den, she couldn't help but overhear Birchleaf talking to Foxnose.<p>

"Today is going to be dry. I can tell… and it's not going to help our patrol either," Foxnose made a comment that Ivypaw tuned out. She already knew it was going to be arid: she had smelled it last night while she was out on the evening patrol.

"Hi, Ivypaw," Ivypaw turned from where she had been sitting and looked at Hollyclaw.

"Oh, hi Hollyclaw," Ivypaw was suddenly thrust back to the days when Hollyclaw would hunt with her and Weedpaw. The three had grown to become good friends, until Hollyclaw was given her warrior name last newleaf. Since then, they hadn't really talked much.

"Hey I was wondering if you wanted to go on the next hunting patrol with me,"

"Well, you'd have to ask Birchleaf,"

"I did, and he and Foxnose said that they were going on a patrol, but that I could take you and Weedpaw on my hunting patrol," Ivypaw briefly wondered why Birchleaf and his brother would want to go on a patrol without their apprentices, though she quickly brushed it aside, remembering that she was still in conversation with Hollyclaw.

"Okay, I'll just go and get Weedpaw now," Ivypaw raced back to the apprentice's den and sharply prodded her brother with her paw. "Wake up you lazy lump!"

"I'm awake!" Weedpaw's long fur rippled as he arched his back in a drawn-out stretch.

"Hurry up; we're going hunting with Hollyclaw," Weedpaw's eyes snapped open and he quickly came down from his stretch.

"Okay, I'll be out in a moment," Ivypaw rolled her eyes and left the stuffy warmth of the den. She knew that he would be fastidiously grooming himself for his crush, and, with his long fur, she knew this would take a while. Her stomach grumbled and she picked out a small mouse from the well-stocked fresh-kill pile.

The sun was well visible from the gorge where the camp sat when Weedpaw finally finished his primping. Just in time for Torneye to release the announcements of who would be on the morning's patrols.

"Toadleap, Birchleaf, and Foxnose, you'll be patrolling the SkyClan border with Finchstar." Ivypaw glanced suspiciously at the group already assembled. It was uncommon for Finchstar to lead patrols. "Hazelstorm, you'll be leading the other patrol over on the RiverClan border. Take Minnowclaw and Fogwhisker. Hollyclaw, I heard you're taking Weedpaw and Ivypaw out hunting?" Hollyclaw quickly nodded her head.

"Alright, let's go," Ivypaw briefly glanced at her father and mother leading their apprentices out of camp. Ivypaw assumed they were going to train their apprentices together.

"C'mon, Weedpaw," Ivypaw said to her brother. They followed Hollyclaw out of camp at a brisk pace, and soon started to sprint towards the SkyClan border. It didn't take them long until they could see the tall pine trees where their rivals lived.

"Okay, since I'm the senior warrior here, I'll be assessing your hunting skills," Hollyclaw teased.

"Well, since you're so high and mighty…" Weedpaw crouched, ready to spring. Hollyclaw was thrown onto the ground as the two old friends tussled playfully.

"Hey, you're going to scare away all prey from here to Mothermouth!" Ivypaw warned. Hollyclaw cleared her throat.

"Ivypaw's right. We should split up- we'll catch more prey that way rather than if we all hunt together,"

"Okay, I'll take this area," Weedpaw sat up straight, listening intently for the scurrying of paws.

"Alright, I'll take closer to the river,"

"That's a long ways away, Hollyclaw," Weedpaw mewed.

"I'll be fine," Ivypaw threw a scrutinizing glance at Weedpaw. He didn't notice though, he was too busy staring into Hollyclaw's eyes.

"And I'll take closer to the SkyClan border,"

"Sounds good," Weedpaw said, breaking out of his trance.

"Okay, let's all meet here at sunhigh," the three cats moved towards their designated areas.

As Ivypaw moved towards the SkyClan border, she couldn't help but wonder about the romantic relationship between her brother and her friend that had so suddenly sprung up.

Suddenly, a sickeningly sharp, piney smell sought Ivypaw's nose. SkyClan had passed right onto ThunderClan territory! And as if to make things worse, they were headed towards her!

Quickly, Ivypaw dived under a broad hawthorn bush, hoping that her scent would be masked by the scent of her own territory.

"Are you sure this is the way to their camp?" a deep voice growled. It was the massive SkyClan leader, Bearstar.

"I know my way through here, Bearstar. We're skirting around it, remember," a feminine voice hissed. Bearstar's response was incoherent from where Ivypaw was crouched. She closed her eyes tightly as she heard approaching paws. The SkyClan cats had moved right passed her! Soon she discovered that the feminine voice was Fenpelt, the SkyClan deputy. There were also some of the most notorious cats here; Fangcrest, Vulturebeak, and Crouchshadow. The deadly trio had fought in many battles against ThunderClan and ShadowClan. Usually, their more reasonable sister would fight with them, though last time she'd heard, Quickriver was caring for her three kits. In addition to that was the overly-ambitious Webstep, who Ivypaw knew had his eye on Bearstar's position. Trailing at the end of the SkyClan patrol were two apprentices; Flypaw and Dewpaw. Flypaw was fairly aggressive, much like his mentor, Fangcrest; however, Dewpaw was nice enough to her at gatherings. She almost reminded her of Hollyclaw.

Once the patrol was out of sight from where Ivypaw was, she sprang up and raced back to camp.

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><p>"Torneye!" Ivypaw practically screamed the name as she raced into camp, interrupting Torneye's and Pondripple's conversation.<p>

"Ivypaw! What is it?" the ThunderClan deputy's fur fluffed up in alarm.

"SkyClan… invaded our territory… they're coming here… to the camp!" Ivypaw caught her breath just in time to hear a cat's paws pounding towards her from behind. She was pounced upon by two furry bodies, and she recognized the blurred pelts as the two SkyClan apprentices. Soon, Torneye's battle cry was heard as he and Pondripple faced the rest of the SkyClan patrol.

Out of the corner of her eye, Ivypaw could make out Echowhisper leading the elders into the nursery. The queen spent most of her time in the nursery, but she was no push over. When Webstep ventured a bit too close, she swiped at his muzzle. The two began to tussle dangerously close to the opening of the nursery.

As Ivypaw swiped at Flypaw, Dewpaw thrust her back down from behind. As she attempted to buck Dewpaw off, Flypaw raked her ear, splitting the thin skin and sending rivets of pain to cascade onto Ivypaw. She collapsed under the weight of the two SkyClan apprentices. For the first time in her history of battles, she feared for her life.

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><p>AN: Oh noes! ThunderClan in peril! Ivypaw in danger! Will Weedpaw be able to save them in time? :O<p>

PS: Hope you liked! R&R! I will update soonish- once I'm done with finals.


	9. Chapter 8: Invasion Part 2

AN: Finally done with finals... yay! Hope I don't get terrible grades for the semester... anyways, second half to the battle! Enjoy ;)

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><p>Weedpaw scented the air for prey. <em>Mouse!<em> Just as Weedpaw sighted it, the furry creature dived underneath a gnarled tree root and into a paw-sized burrow.

"Mouse-dung!" he cursed under his breath.

"What was that?" Weedpaw froze at the unexpected voice.

"I smell mouse. That's probably what it was," another voice joined the first.

"Well, we didn't come here to hunt, let's keep going," Weedpaw instantly recognized the deep voice of Bearstar and scented the air to confirm his suspicions. He could tell that the SkyClan warriors had picked up the pace, heading in the direction of the ThunderClan camp. Weedpaw thought back to the two warriors left at the camp. Two wouldn't be enough to combat a full-sized battle patrol. He considered fetching Ivypaw, but assumed Hollyclaw would be of greater help in battle. After all, she had been in more battles than his sister.

Weedpaw set off for his friend in a whoosh of air. Expertly, he dodged tree trunks and avoided roots and fallen branches. He scented the air again, and was greeted by Hollyclaw's sweet scent.

"Hollyclaw!" Weedpaw cried into the air. He heard a bird's wings flap away into the air, and the shrill alarm call of a blue jay sought his ears.

"Weedpaw? Are you mouse-brained?" an angry Hollyclaw arrived from the undergrowth in a huff.

"I heard SkyClan warriors heading towards the camp!" Hollyclaw's eyes widened.

"Well then you were right to get me! I'll rip their pelts right off their bodies!" Hollyclaw led Weedpaw towards the camp at a sprint. The SkyClan warriors would've already reached the camp by now.

Yowls of pain ripped through the air. Somehow, Weedpaw found the strength to run even faster. Hollyclaw screeched as she leaped through the bracken and into the camp, landing on the SkyClan deputy just as she was about to rip into Torneye's belly.

Meanwhile, Weedpaw jumped into the bracken after Hollyclaw, and was surprised to find his sister there, fighting against Flypaw and Dewpaw.

"Ivypaw!" he screamed his sister's name and raced toward her. Distracted by her brother, she was clobbered in the face by the unsheathed claws of Flypaw. Weedpaw pounced on the young tomcat, bent on shredding him for injuring his littermate. Briefly, Weedpaw saw blood spattering on the ground from Dewpaw's speckled flank. Her fur was torn in three places, and blood wept from each wound. The SkyClan apprentice moaned in pain before racing out of the ThunderClan camp. Flypaw watched his sister flee the scene, hissed as Weedpaw scraped his claws down his shoulder, and followed suit, pursued briefly by a more-than-angry Weedpaw.

"And don't come back!" Ivypaw yowled after the fleeing apprentices as she turned to face her brother. "Let's rip their tails out," she snarled.

Ivypaw raced over to the nursery, where a fierce scuffle was dragging on between Webstep and a tiring Echowhisper. Weedpaw prayed to StarClan that his sister would be able to help combat against Webstep.

Quickly, Weedpaw surveyed the rest of the scene. Hollyclaw and Fenpelt were facing each other and Torneye was locked in a fur-raising battle with Bearstar. The huge tomcat had the ThunderClan deputy pinned, until Torneye gave a massive thrust with his shoulder and butted the larger cat off him. Weedpaw looked near the leader's den, and gasped as he saw Pondripple fall under the strength of Crouchshadow. Her two brothers flanked her as his Clanmate struggled underneath one large paw of both Fangcrest and Vulturebeak, one on each shoulder. Then Crouchshadow moved in to bite into the silver she-cat's neck.

"Pondripple! No!" Weedpaw was already on his paws and racing towards the trio at an extraordinary speed. But he was too late. Crouchshadow's teeth sunk into the she-cat's throat, and as she whipped around to face the incoming threat, her fanglike teeth were stained crimson with blood.

Everything seemed to slow down as Weedpaw crashed into Crouchshadow, carefully avoiding her landing on his fallen Clanmate. Vulturebeak stumbled backwards, just barely avoiding his sister running into him. Weedpaw used everything in his arsenal that could injure another cat. His front claws he used to anchor himself. He slashed into the she-cat's shoulders as he went into a death-grip, holding on while his back claws raked her belly fur. His teeth bit down into once of her shoulders and she screeched out in utter pain.

Suddenly, a large body slammed into his side. Vulturebeak's ash gray pelt was a blur as the tomcat scratched the ThunderClan apprentice in a fury. Weedpaw could barely make out Fangcrest helping his bloody mess of a sister to her feet and trying to get her to hurry out of the ThunderClan camp.

"SkyClan, retreat!" Bearstar yowled and raced out of camp, Fenpelt and Webstep following him. Weedpaw gasped as Vulturebeak released him, staring him down with blazing amber eyes.

"Next time," the SkyClan cat hissed. "Don't you dare touch my sister."

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><p>AN: And there you have it. (Following said in dramatic voice) Is Pondripple dead? Are SkyClan gone for good? Keep reading to find out!<p> 


	10. Chapter 9: Named the Same

An: Phew! Took me FOREVER until I posted this! Sorry, if you were waiting on it.

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><p>"I, Finchstar, leader of ThunderClan, call my warriors ancestors to look down on these apprentices. They have worked hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn. Ivypaw, Weedpaw, do you promise to uphold the warriors code and to defend and protect your Clan, even at the cost of your own life?"<p>

"I do," two voices, brimming with excitement, met the shivering air.

"Then by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior names. Ivypaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Ivythorn. StarClan honors your bravery and cunning, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan," Weedpaw watched as Ivypaw- no, Ivy_thorn_- stepped forward and licked Finchstar's shoulder as their leader laid her chin on his sister's head. Ivythorn stepped back and Finchstar turned to Weedpaw.

"Weedpaw, from this moment on, you will be known as Weedstripe…" an icy chill ran down Weedstripe's spine like a cold claw. "StarClan honors your loyalty and courage, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan," Weedstripe blindly stepped forward and briefly licked his leader's shoulder. He consciously blocked out his Clanmate's cheers. He didn't want to have to hear his new name.

"Our new warriors will be sitting vigil silently until dawn," Finchstar declared.

"That means no talking," Foxnose's eyes betrayed the happiness he was feeling towards his former apprentice. "Starting now." Good. Weedpaw didn't feel like talking. He followed his sister out of the camp and sat down to the right of the thorn tunnel.

They sat there for what seemed like moons. Ivythorn got up a few times and paced around, but Weedstripe could hardly feel the discomfort in his legs. He twitched his whiskers as he came to his conclusion. He had no idea what Weedstripe had even done. _How bad could it have been?_

Suddenly, a bright light obscured his vision of everything else. The light became darkness, and the stench of decay reached his nose. A grayish fog swept in and around the trees, and as Weedstripe looked up, he could see no stars.

He instantly knew where he was, and he shivered.

"How bad could it be?" Weedstripe whipped around to find the other Weedstripe, staring at him from atop a mossy log.

"Yes," Weedstripe stated boldly, puffing out his chest. He was a warrior now. He shouldn't be afraid of anything.

"Well that depends on whose side you are on," the tom in front of him said silkily. "How bad would you say murdering someone was?" Weedstripe was taken aback. This cat was asking him how bad it was to take a life without reason?

"I would say that it is very bad, and unnecessary," the other Weedstripe snorted.

"Only a blind StarClan cat would say that. There was a she-cat, who thought it would be fun to just stomp around on my heart. She dumped me, her best friend, for a tomcat from SkyClan, of all places! That ignorant, stuck-up, piece of fox-dung, Bearstar. She was attracted to power, and back then I was hardly a ghost to all Clans but my own, ShadowClan. I had nothing to offer her, and back then, Bearstar was still Bearclaw. The cocky deputy of the cats who think they are squirrels, and jump throughout the trees as such…"

"But why did you murder her?" Weedstripe pressed.

"I never did. I murdered her sister, Blindheart. She was too needy. She was blind and a burden on the Clan, and I knew that would hurt Brooktail more than anything. I laid low for a while and finally I became deputy. Then, I made an attempt on Lichenstone's life… she was leader then. I would've become leader, but that mouse-brained Heatherstar got in the way. Lichenstone exiled me, I was killed by Bearstar after I tried to kill him, and I was sent here." Weedstripe bowed his head and concentrated on trying to process this information. This cat had killed his mate's sister in a jealous rage, and had tried to take position as leader to get her back. _Apparently, ShadowClan hadn't been big on sharing this information, otherwise I would've heard about this incident._ He thought. _Why would Finchstar name me Weedstripe if she had known about the terrible things associated with this name?_

"You showed your strength yesterday," the comment broke Weedstripe's concentration, and he snapped his head back up. "You could've killed Crouchshadow, but you didn't. You would've, I know it,"

"I wouldn't have if I'd known how close I was to killing her," the other Weedstripe snorted again.

"You should've, and you would've if Vulturebeak hadn't thrown you off," he hissed.

"Yes. But if I did, the guilt would follow me forever…"

"You'd get over it," Weedstripe glared at the matted gray tom.

"I'm not a murderer like you! After I am dead, the name Weedstripe will make cats think of me, not you! They will remember the good in the name Weedstripe, not the evil you have stained it with. I will make sure every cat forgets about you…"

"Every cat, but you…" the evil cat's eyes glowed from dark yellow, to orange, to red in an instant as Weedstripe roused himself from his stupor.

He was outside the ThunderClan camp, being prodded harshly by his sister.

"I know we're not supposed to talk, but are you okay? You dozed off and it took you forever to get me to wake you up," she hissed. He stayed silent but nodded fiercely. 'Good', she mouthed, and resumed pacing.

Weedstripe looked around. It seemed that almost no time had passed. But that was impossible wasn't it?

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><p>AN: Love it, hate it? Review!<p> 


	11. Chapter 10: Out of Sorrow Comes Love

AN: Now we get to see what the heck Ivythorn is thinking about all this time.

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><p>Ivythorn wasn't so sure about Weedstripe. He seemed to have gotten a little better after the battle. But at that night's ceremony, he'd seemed… distant. Ivythorn was still pacing. Her brother could wait. She'd been trying to figure out what was wrong with him for a moon-and-a-half now, and she'd given up. Besides, she had other things on her mind now. All she could think of was Pondripple's littermates. Mistwind had obviously found it difficult to work with so many cats on the day of the battle without being reminded of her sister.<p>

And poor Minnowclaw and Fogwhisker. Minnowclaw had lost her best friend, Ivythorn was sure of that. The two she-cats would often be found together. Ivypaw supposed it was because Mistwind had been too busy with medicine cat duties, and Fogwhisker couldn't relate to their liking of toms.

But Ivythorn's heart also went out to Fogwhisker. When Pondripple wasn't with Minnowclaw, she'd be found with her brother. Ever since his sister had been buried, Ivythorn had found him brooding over his sister's grave every night at moonhigh. They usually wouldn't say anything. But last night was different. He'd asked her why she had come out to Pondripple's grave. Not like he thought she shouldn't be there, but just as a general question that a miserable cat would ask, along the lines of 'why waste your time?' Ivythorn had responded "because I can't stand to see a cat alone when he is in pain". That was when he looked at Ivythorn with eyes that could break any cat's heart. The amount of sorrow concealed in his amber eyes made Ivythorn feel like crying out to StarClan and all the cats whose hearts had ever been snapped in two.

He had simply responded "If only…" Ivythorn could only guess what that meant. But she went over to the tomcat and pressed against him comfortingly. He'd put his head on her shoulder and the two had gazed silently at Pondripple's burial place. It was underneath a favorite oak tree the littermates had played under when they were still young apprentices, back when everything was simpler and they had nothing to worry about. Ivythorn remembered having looked up at the stars just in time to see a bright streak suddenly shoot across the sky. In the stories she'd heard, those were spirits that were going to StarClan. Ivythorn wondered if that shooting star was the spirit of Pondripple.

When Ivythorn emerged from her brooding, the sky was breaking dawn. The clouds turned a dark red as the sun emerged from behind the mountains. The dark sky was driven out by gold and orange streaks, and the sky around the sun's horizon turned a milky blue. The last star vanished as the sun overtook the mountains, and Ivythorn was called to by Ivythorn's former mentor.

"Ivythorn, Weedstripe. Welcome back to camp as warriors," he mewed proudly and led them back into camp.

"You can talk now," Foxnose said as Weedstripe greeted him, touching noses, in the center of camp.

"Are you ready for you're first task as a warrior?" Birchleaf asked.

"Yes," Ivythorn said proudly. She ought to be proud to be a warrior of ThunderClan.

"You two get to help the apprentices and Hollyclaw rebuild the walls of the camp," Foxnose meowed. Ivythorn visibly sunk. Oh well, it was for the Clan.

"Very well," Weedstripe answered.

"Ivythorn, Weedstripe!" Hollyclaw called the two new warriors over. They dashed to her; she was repairing the far wall where most of the SkyClan patrol, and Weedstripe and Hollyclaw, had broken through. "Good names, by the way," Ivythorn saw pride flicker in her eyes as they passed over Weedstripe. She knew she had a thing for her brother, and that he had a thing for Hollyclaw.

"Okay, let's get started," Weedstripe took a bramble vine in his teeth, and got busy threading it through the barrier. Once he was done, he turned to look at his sister. "Ivythorn, I think you ought to help the apprentices. They could use a warrior to help them," Ivythorn compared the damage done to the thorn tunnel and the damage done to this wall. It was as significant as night and day. Ivythorn considered staying, but decided she didn't want to ruin her brother's chance at happiness with Hollyclaw.

"Alright," she answered and started towards Tawnypaw and Cloudpaw. Tawnypaw was telling Cloudpaw about a new battle move Lizardtail had taught her; the Lightning Strike.

"Yeah, you attack them, and then disappear, leaving them disoriented. Then, you come back and attack them again and again until they turn tail and run! They think that the whole of ThunderClan is on their trail, because they don't know how many cats had attacked them!"

"That doesn't sound too hard…" Cloudpaw replied.

"But you have to wait for just the right time to strike, and you have to watch the patrol leader very carefully," it was then that Tawnypaw took notice of Ivythorn's arrival. "Oh, hi Ivythorn!"

"Hi, Tawnypaw, Cloudpaw," Ivythorn nodded to each apprentice in turn.

"Hey, is it hard to stay awake all night when you're doing your vigil?" Cloudpaw asked.

"Not really. Just be sure to get a good night's rest the day before, or else you might fall asleep," unbeknownst to the apprentices, Ivythorn wasn't talking about herself. She was talking about Weedstripe. He hadn't asked her where she had been going the past three nights, but she knew he had been awake each time she left. That's probably why he'd fallen asleep during their vigil last night. She refused to believe that something unknown to her was bothering Weedstripe.

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><p>AN: Romance blossoming all around! I should've posted this on Valentine's Day. ;)<p> 


	12. Chapter 11: Green Orbs and Sweet Scents

AN: Ooh... Hollyclaw/Weedstripe ;)

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><p>"So how was your first successful battle?" Hollyclaw asked slowly.<p>

"You mean the first battle where I didn't fall unconscious?"

"Yes," Weedstripe saw amusement flicker in her eyes. Her eyes. Those beautiful green orbs. For a moment, he was enraptured by them, until she flicked him with her white-tipped tail. "Get to work," she said, visible stifling a _purr _of amusement.

He did eventually get to work. But it was hard when the cat that had made him feel truly happy for the first time in moons was standing right next to him. Every breath he took was saturated by her scent. That lovely, sweet, potent scent. It reminded him of newleaf, when the blossoms of the willow tree would bloom. That's what she was to him, a precious blossom. As he looked at her, he realized that she was not just the cat who made him happy. She was the cat who he _loved_.

"Are you two done yet?" Weedstripe nearly jumped out of his fur as Torneye called to them.

"Almost," Hollyclaw mewed.

"Weedstripe, you need to get some sleep. Remember, you'll be sleeping in the warrior's den," Torneye had to be the most anti-romantic cat ever seen. Weedstripe honestly didn't see what Dappleheart saw in him besides being a great warrior.

"Alright, Torneye," Weedstripe sighed and padded towards his new den.

"Hollyclaw," Weedstripe turned and saw hope in Hollyclaw's eyes. Maybe Torneye would allow her to come with him. Maybe that's why she looked so hopeful. _Maybe,_ he thought. "You're coming on a patrol with Hazelstorm and me," Weedstripe rolled his eyes and proceeded to the warrior's den. _Yes, definitely the most anti-romantic cat ever._

When he got to the den, he found that Ivythorn was already inside, along with Birchleaf. Curiosity brought Weedstripe to stop just outside the den, out of sight.

"So how's life as a warrior?" Birchleaf asked his former apprentice.

"Good so far, though it's only been a day," Ivythorn pointed out. Weedstripe could hear Birchleaf snort good-naturedly.

"Well, I just wanted to see how my favorite apprentice was faring," Ivythorn _purr_ed at this.

"Truly, I'm fine," Weedstripe prepared to make his entrance as he heard Birchleaf rising to leave. "And I'm not an apprentice anymore," Weedstripe padded in just as Birchleaf flicked his tail across Ivythorn's ear.

"Hello, Weedstripe," Birchleaf said as he padded out of the den. Weedstripe pretended to look too tired to respond.

"You look exhausted, Weedstripe," Ivythorn moved over in her nest to give her brother some room. He _was_ exhausted.

"Good night," he murmured as he stepped in the nest and lay down, closing his eyes. It had been over two days since he had last fallen asleep, and he hadn't realized how much he missed another cat's warmth in the same nest. He never questioned his sister where she had been going late at night, but he was glad that his sister was here now. After all, this may be one of the last times he slept with her by his side, if indeed Hollyclaw loved him back.

"Good morning," she corrected him as Weedstripe fell asleep.

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><p>AN: I have no excuse to the shortness of this chapter. :)<p>

Also, the dialogue between Ivythorn and Birchleaf shows that she has moved on from apprentice life when Weedstripe is still troubled with things from his time as an apprentice... so it is NOT in fact a pointless conversation. So ha! Take that Michelle!


	13. Chapter 12: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

AN: I congratulate myself for finally making a long chapter! This chapter focuses mostly on Ivythorn's and *spoiler* Fogwhisker's *end of spoiler* relationship (although if you read the earlier chapters, that wouldn't have been much of a spoiler)... enjoy!

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><p>A half-moon had passed since Ivythorn's warrior ceremony, and the ground had grown cold and hard as she dug her claws into it.<p>

"I can't believe they crossed it _again_," she muttered angrily, loud enough for the rest of the patrol to hear her. SkyClan had crossed the border again. Finchstar turned to her.

Apparently, the day that SkyClan attacked the ThunderClan camp, Finchstar and her patrol were going to catch SkyClan in the act of stealing prey. But, the SkyClan cats had beaten her to the blow. When Finchstar's patrol arrived back at camp, the SkyClan cats were already gone.

"They must be having a hard time finding prey in their territory," Finchstar mewed calmly.

"That doesn't make it okay for them to steal our prey!" Toadleap said angrily.

"Finchstar," Hazelstorm, the last member of the patrol, addressed her leader. "We should do what you planned to do the day we were attacked. They obviously didn't see their defeat as a lesson learned. Let's teach them now," the golden-brown tabby hissed, and unsheathed her claws.

"All in good time… it seems that they've already stolen prey recently. I doubt they'll be here again today. Tomorrow, we will wait for them," Finchstar decreed. "Let's finish the patrol,"

Ivythorn spent the rest of the patrol marveling at how her leader could stay so calm in this situation. She would never want to be leader- calling all the tough calls, dealing with the stress of rival Clans… and she would never be able to have kits. That was what she really wanted- kits of her own someday. Of course she'd have to find a tom whom she loved and who loved her back. Suddenly, an image of Ivythorn and Fogwhisker popped into her mind, and she could see them living out their lives together, spending nights sprawled out on the sandy, windswept hills of the training hollow, gazing at the stars, each telling the other that they loved them.

"Ivythorn, have you got fur in your ears?" Ivythorn shook her head and looked at Hazelstorm. The rest of the patrol was far ahead; Ivythorn hadn't realized she wanted that life with Fogwhisker enough to make her cease doing her duties.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Ivythorn broke off and started to pad forward, but she couldn't escape the knowing look that her Clanmate gave her. "Really!" Ivythorn insisted. But Hazelstorm wasn't buying it.

"Who is it?" Hazelstorm asked. Ivythorn murmured that it had nothing to do with that, Hazelstorm started to recite the names of single toms, and Ivythorn could feel her fur grow hot. The lack of single toms in the she-cats' Clan shortened the interrogation to only a few heartbeats. "Hmm, let's see… the only single tomcat in ThunderClan is… Fogwhisker," Ivythorn screwed her eyes closed in embarrassment, but quickly reopened them. She had nothing to be ashamed of… Hazelstorm gasped. "Unless if it's not a ThunderClan cat!"

"He's a ThunderClan cat!" Ivythorn assured her quickly. "And you're first guess was right- it _is_ Fogwhisker," Hazelstorm eyed her.

"I knew it- that first night, after Pondripple died, you left the camp and I asked you where you were going. You were going to grieve with Fogwhisker, weren't you!" she said excitedly, then quickly quieted down. "Sorry…."

"It's okay…" Ivythorn looked down at her paws as she walked. "That's how it started. I didn't plan it… I mourned her just before she was buried, but then I forgot to mention something that we had conquered in our time when we were apprentices together- we both had a knack for getting into trouble, along with Minnowclaw," Ivythorn realized that they had arrived back at camp, but Hazelstorm blocked her way in front of the thorn tunnel.

"Finish," she mewed quietly.

"I left to go and thank her that moonhigh, and Fogwhisker was there. We hardly talked that first night, and I didn't want to disturb him- but I didn't want to leave either- so I never got to mourning Pondripple. Then the next night, I left a bit earlier, before Fogwhisker arrived, and thanked her. Then as I was leaving, he came and told me a story about when they had been kits in the nursery," Ivythorn looked into Hazelstorm's eyes and tried to copy the emotion that Fogwhisker had shown her. "They'd been playing a bit too roughly, and he'd shoved her. She nearly broke her paw, and ever since then, he'd been bent on protecting her from whatever tried to come near her," Ivythorn looked away and studied the nearby oak tree where, underneath, the resting place of Pondripple's body lay. "Then the last night, he asked me why I had come again, and I told him that I couldn't stand to see a cat alone when he is in pain…" Ivythorn broke off, remembering the look of desperation, gratefulness, and sorrow mix together into one overwhelming glance. Ivythorn looked back at Hazelstorm, who had been watching her patiently as she told her story. Hazelstorm just nodded solemnly as the two returned to camp.

Ivythorn had new respect for the quiet warrior as she padded away to pull a piece of fresh-kill off the pile.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here for a Clan meeting!" Finchstar's yowl summoned Hazelstorm from her mouse and Ivythorn from her thoughts. Her leader looked particularly strong and healthy; the white patches of her fur gleamed in the setting sun.

When the ThunderClan cats had assembled, their leader continued. "SkyClan has crossed the border again!" cries of rage sprung up throughout the camp. Finchstar quickly silenced them with a lash of her tail. "That is why tomorrow, we show them that they cannot keep on doing this!" Ivythorn couldn't help but feel her claws slide out and dig into the soil.

"How?" Birchleaf asked.

"I am going to take a selection of warriors and lay in wait until a patrol of their warriors comes close enough to attack. It's become clear to me now that plain warnings and threats at Gatherings aren't enough to keep them out. Neither are borders and scent lines. This is why we are going to show them with tooth and claw," supportive yowls rose from the crowd. Ivythorn joined in and lashed her tail in anticipation of tomorrow's battle. She hoped that she would be chosen to go.

"Tomorrow, I will lead Toadleap, Gorseheart, Foxnose, Fogwhisker, and Minnowclaw. Lizardtail, I want you to train with Cloudpaw as well as your own apprentice," Ivythorn's father nodded. "Speaking of apprentices, onto other, happier matters," Finchstar swept her tail once more for silence. "Redkit, Patchkit, you have both reached the age of six moons, and it is time for your apprenticeship to begin," the two kits bounced forward, Patchkit nearly bursting with excitement. "From this day on, until you reach your warrior names, you will be known as Redpaw and Patchpaw. Hazelstorm," the she-cat's eyes widened. She had obviously not realized that the ceremony was going to be today as she padded away from her mouse and towards where the two cats in question were standing. "You will be mentor to Redpaw. I trust you will pass on all you know to this young apprentice." Hazelstorm touched noses with Redpaw, whose blue eyes shone with the wonder and excitement of stepping on the path to becoming a warrior.

Finchstar continued. "Hollyclaw," Ivythorn saw her friend pad forward, her chest visibly swelling with pride. "Your mentor was Hazelstorm. As she gains a second apprentice today, you will gain your first. You will be mentor to Patchpaw, and I hope that you will pass on everything you knew to her," Hollyclaw bent down to touch noses with her new apprentice, as the Clan cheered.

"Redpaw! Patchpaw! Redpaw! Patchpaw!" Ivythorn joined in to welcome the new apprentices, and she raced towards them to congratulate them as Finchstar leapt down from the Highrock.

Ivythorn greeted her friend with a loud _purr_. "Congratulations on your first apprentice, Hollyclaw,"

"Thanks," the dark warrior responded and returned her friend's _purr_.

After a while, the noise finally died, and the Clan settled down for the night… everyone but Ivythorn, who was on guard duty.

Suddenly, a noise ripped through the air. A shrill, whispery, bone-chilling, _psst!_

"Oh, Fogwhisker! That terrifying noise was you!" Ivythorn breathed a sigh of relief as the blue-gray warrior stepped out from the warriors' den, amusement gleaming in his amber eyes.

His voice was a whisper as he responded. "It is. What else would it be?"

"Well, it kind of sounded like a snake. I was preparing to sound the alarm,"

"Nope, just me," the tomcat reassured her, padding forward until he stood next to her in the center of the clearing. His scent wreathed around her, drawing her into a comfort that no other cat could make her reach, and she closed her eyes to relish the feeling.

"Why are you acting so chipper?" she asked suspiciously.

"I can't tell you," he said in a singsong tone.

Ivythorn glanced at him incredulously. "Why not?" she copied his singsong voice.

"Because, you'll find out later," he answered.

Ivythorn cuffed him on the ear. "Go to sleep, you're interrupting my watch," Fogwhisker's ear twitched.

"Alright," he padded off back towards the warriors' den. Ivythorn found it hard to keep her mind set on the task at hand. _Guard that Clan, guard the Clan, guard the Clan… oh, did you see the way he looked at me?_ She shook her head. _Guard the Clan, guard the Clan, guard the Clan, got to listen and guard the Clan… what was that?_

She pricked her ears in the direction of the nursery. A loud rustling and Echowhisper ran out. Ivythorn looked at her in alarm.

"What is it?"

"Dappleheart is going to have her kits!" the she-cat said and raced into the medicine cat's den. A yowl of pain erupted from the nursery, just as Woodflower and Mistwind padded briskly out of their den, their jaws full of herbs.

Torneye was the first warrior to emerge from the warriors' den. "She's kitting?" he asked. It was less of a question than a statement. Ivythorn responded with a nod. She'd almost forgotten that the black warrior was the father of Dappleheart's kits.

"They're going to be lovely kits," Ivythorn mewed as Torneye waited in front of the nursery.

"She sounds like she's in so much pain," he whispered as his mate gave another yelp. Ivythorn approached him and touched his shoulder comfortingly with her tail.

"She probably is. But Woodflower and Mistwind are going to make it better, and then the Clan will have more cats to be proud of… cats that will be proud to have you as their father." Ivythorn didn't know where the speech came from. It had just tumbled out. Though it seemed to help calm down the anxious father-to-be a margin.

"I hope so," he mewed humbly. By now, the whole clearing was bustling with cats. Finchstar was being filled in by warriors who already knew what was going on. The new apprentices were being restrained by their mentors as they bumbled around excitedly.

"How many do you think there'll be?" asked Patchpaw. "Ten?" Hollyclaw gave a _mrrow_ of amusement.

"For Dappleheart's sake, I hope not," Ivythorn looked around at the throng of cats until she spotted the blue-gray pelt of Fogwhisker, murmuring quietly to his sister. As their eyes met, he dismissed Minnowclaw and padded towards Ivythorn.

"How long do you think it's going to take?" just then, Ivythorn saw Mistwind pad out of the nursery, beckoning to Torneye.

"Two healthy tomcats," she said excitedly. Torneye walked swiftly into the milk-smelling den, where now the two youngest members of the forest were housed.

Fogwhisker sighed inwardly. "I spoke too soon."

Ivythorn pressed against him. She closed her eyes and was suddenly thrust into another vision of the future; she was happily enjoying the sunshine with her mate, Fogwhisker, and their kits. As she opened her eyes, she found Fogwhisker looking at her. His eyes held the same amount of feeling that she had just felt. _Maybe he loves me too?_

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><p>AN: Does he love her? Is it all in Ivythorn's head? Read to find out!<p> 


	14. Chapter 13: Warrior at Heart

AN: This chapter pretty much covers all the bases- romance, drama, suspense, action, and the dark forces of the Land of No Stars... they have cookies!

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><p>The crisp morning air chilled Weedstripe's nose. He inhaled; nothing but Hollyclaw's scent wreathed around him.<p>

Hollyclaw padded forward along the ThunderClan border with SkyClan. The attack had been a success. They'd caught the thieving mouse-hearts in the act- trespassing on ThunderClan territory and hunting. Well Finchstar's patrol had showed them not to mess with ThunderClan prey.

Suddenly, Hollyclaw raised her tail, signaling for the patrol to stop. "I smell something,"

"SkyClan?" Hollyclaw's fearful apprentice, Patchpaw, beat Weedstripe to the question. Weedstripe sniffed the air deeply. He smelled Hollyclaw, Patchpaw, SkyClan- though not on ThunderClan territory-, and…

"RiverClan!" he gasped.

"That's right," a deep voice growled. Weedstripe instantly recognized the black-and-white tom as he stepped out from a hawthorn bush.

"Splashwing," he addressed the cat. "You're an awful long way from Sunningrocks,"

"That's right. RiverClan has laid claim to the river and all of its shores. If you disagree, we won't hesitate to use our claws to get it," he slid out his claws. They glinted in the sunlight, as if anticipating the ripping of fur, the splatter of blood against silver fur as the helpless victim lay on the rock, her life seeping out of her….

"No," Weedstripe's mind was invaded with images of Pondripple's bloody body. The sweet she-cat had not deserved the cruel fate handed to her.

The trespasser sighed. "Then, I guess we're just going to have to go to war," he said calmly. The bushes rustled behind him and three more RiverClan cats stepped out.

"Patchpaw, run back to camp to get more warriors," Patchpaw froze, a look of terror on her face. "Now!" the apprentice started towards the camp at a run, just when Splashwing leaped at Hollyclaw. The dark brown she-cat was thrown back. Weedstripe was about to knock the tomcat off of her, when a slender gray she-cat stepped between them. She tried to claw his face, but was too far back. Weedstripe retaliated, throwing his paws up with unsheathed claws, scratching everything- her muzzle, ears, belly, shoulder, legs….

Weedstripe cried out in pain as a pair of strong jaws clamped down on his tail. He turned in agony to find an apprentice clinging to his tail. The bright ginger she-cat looked Weedstripe in the eye and released him, stepping back just before he could kick her back with his hind leg. He was thrust back into the trunk of an oak and was cornered by the two RiverClan she-cats.

"Hollyclaw!" he yelled, ducking repetitive blows to the ears and muzzle. One claw raked his ear, and a set of three scraped down his chin. He briefly saw Hollyclaw busy with Splashwing and a white she-cat, and was overcome by terror as she was knocked to the ground. "No!" he shoved the gray she-cat out of the way with a strength he never knew he had.

_"That's right, use your true power,"_ a whispery voice said. He was tempted to look around, searching for the other Weedstripe, but he had more important things to do right now than be distracted by that scoundrel.

Splashwing buckled under the force Weedstripe imposed on him. He knocked into the black-and-white tom and into the white she-cat. He stood protectively over Hollyclaw, fur ridiculously puffed out, with his ears flattened and his bushy tail swaying from side to side. He gave a drawn-out hiss until Hollyclaw stirred, picking herself up and shaking blood off her whiskers.

Weedstripe could hear movement behind him. _Oh no, not more of them!_ He pleaded to StarClan inside his head. He whipped around, ready to pounce, still hissing, but ceased when he was met with the strong figure of Torneye, as well as Lizardtail, Birchleaf, Foxnose, Russetwing, and Tawnypaw.

"Don't think that this means we won't be back," the RiverClan intruders raced back through the bushes, towards the river. Torneye, Russetwing, and Birchleaf left to make sure they were gone. Hollyclaw pressed her cheek to Weedstripe's and kept it there as the rest of the ThunderClan cats made their way back to camp.

"That was amazing- I thought I was going to StarClan," she whispered.

"I would never let that happen," he answered.

"And for that, I love you," Weedstripe felt as though he were going to burst with happiness. "And you love me?" she looked into his eyes questioningly, full of hope.

"Of course, I love you," there, he'd finally said it. He saw joy fill her eyes. Her amazing green eyes. They were close enough that he could see the tiny brown speckles scattered throughout them. Sooner than he'd hoped, they reached the camp, and the new kits were on them immediately.

"Wow, you're bleeding!" the gray-and-white one, Ferretkit, announced. Weedstripe saw an eerily similar, overenthusiastic Patchpaw in this young kit.

"Did you actually claw off their ears?" the other one, a ginger tabby named Needlekit, asked. "That's what Patchpaw said you'd do,"

"Yeah, she said you'd rip off their fur too!"

"Did you?"

"Now, little warriors, Weedstripe and Hollyclaw have to go get their wounds cleaned now," Foxnose said. The two kits let out groans of disappointment.

"Thank you, Foxnose," Weedstripe thanked his former mentor.

"I wasn't joking, you know. Those there on your muzzle in particular look bad," Hollyclaw nosed him towards the medicine cats' den.

"Let's go," she said.

Ivythorn met up with them, along with Fogwhisker, halfway across the clearing to the medicine cats' den. Weedstripe noticed that the blue-gray tomcat could usually be found with his sister. Was she jealous? Did she get herself a mate when he'd took on Hollyclaw because she felt that he'd been neglecting her? He would have to ask her. Maybe go hunting with her.

He grimaced as he felt one of the claw marks on his muzzle reopen. Blood oozed out, and he twitched his whiskers to shake it off.

"So how was the battle?" Ivythorn asked.

"Eh," Weedstripe shrugged as Woodflower tended to the bite mark in his tail. Mistwind was working steadily on Hollyclaw, who'd received multiple blows to her shoulders and neck. "It was painful. I'm pretty sure they hurt us more then we hurt them," he winced as a sharp stinging feeling- like brambles being dragged along his tail- travelled upwards. Then he sighed lightly as it dispersed and was replaced by a cooling sensation.

"Well, I'm sorry that you didn't get to chase them off personally,"

Weedstripe suppressed a _mrrow_ of laughter. "I doubt I could. I hardly had enough energy to get back to camp," he and Hollyclaw shared a glance. Of course he'd shared his remaining strength with her, and they'd made it back to camp leaning on each other's shoulder.

"I'm surprised that Russetwing was out so soon after her kits left the nursery," Weedstripe shrugged at this.

"She's a warrior at heart," he said mildly. Woodflower started to concentrate on the blows dealt to his torso.

"A lot of us are," Ivythorn said vaguely, with a certain sagacity not found in a cat her age. "We all become warriors when something we love is threatened," Weedstripe widened his eyes. "You knew that ThunderClan's borders were in danger," she said quickly. Just before a suspicious Weedstripe opened his mouth to reply, Torneye padded into the medicine cats' hollow, catching his breath. He must have run all the way back to camp.

"Torneye, what's wrong?" Woodflower said worriedly, her voice muffled by damp moss. The black deputy caught his breath.

"Nothing, Ivythorn I need you to lead a hunting patrol," he swiftly left the medicine cats' hollow. Weedstripe saw pride light up his sister's eyes.

"Well, Ivythorn, who are you going to take?" Weedstripe asked when Woodflower quieted him.

"No talking,"

"Fogwhisker, and whoever I can find in the warriors' den," Ivythorn brushed her tail along Weedstripe's uninjured flank as she left the den with Fogwhisker on her heels.

_"You used your strength today,"_ Weedstripe turned his head sharply to the left. There, suspended in the air, was the very faint outline of the other Weedstripe. _"Don't worry, only you can hear me,"_

"Weedstripe, is something wrong? What are you looking at?" Woodflower peered straight through the dark warrior, and Weedstripe almost convinced himself that he was hallucinating.

"Oh, nothing, just a… a fly," it was the first thing to cross his mind.

When Weedstripe looked back, he was fading away. What he said froze Weedstripe in a state of cold anger._ "I couldn't be more proud of you."_

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><p>AN: I have no idea what to put, so... just send me your thoughts!<p> 


	15. Chapter 14: RiverClan Claims All

AN: Wow... it came to my attention that I hadn't had a Gathering setting yet. That's impressive for me since in my unpublished stories, I usually have had at least a few Gatherings before they become warriors (yes I have other stories... I know, I'm obsessed). Anyway, RiverClan acts big and tough and arrogant. A little like Tigerstar... but less sexy ;)

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><p>The full moon shone a watery light on the cats in the clearing. The four giant trees ringing the hollow cast massive, swaying shadows, and rustled in the chilling leaf-bare wind. The giant stone in the center was topped by five proud-looking cats, two of which, a long-haired gray tom and a brown tabby she-cat, watched passively off to the side as the others glared at each other.<p>

Ivythorn tensed as one of the cats, a speckled brown tom, stepped forward, towards her leader.

"I say we begin this Gathering," he growled. Finchstar muttered agreement. Bearstar took one paw step forward, his claws so long they almost scraped the top of the boulder.

"The Gathering is beginning," he yowled. The tense murmuring quieted further to become a nervous silence. Somewhere distant, a lone blackbird belted its sad song into the night. "I'll go first," Bearstar glanced threateningly at Finchstar. The gray-and-white she-cat glanced back with blazing amber eyes. "SkyClan is alive and healthy, even in this time of leaf-bare. We have made our three kits into apprentices, Barkpaw, Scurrypaw, and Mousepaw," with each name, the three apprentices stepped forward, looking embarrassed. Warriors from each Clan, though ThunderClan cats hesitantly, greeted these new apprentices with cheers. "Prey is still flying well." He stepped back, pointing with his tail to Guststar. The WindClan leader's long, gray fur waved as he stepped out of the protection of the stone.

"WindClan's territory is quiet. No recent Twoleg activity has been reported. Our warrior, Ripplestorm, has moved to the nursery. The prey is running well," this was obviously a lie. As Ivythorn looked around at the WindClan cats, most had pelts that clung to their fur, and she could see the bones jutting out beneath it. However, WindClan's leader had long enough fur to hide the starvation that was obviously running throughout his Clan. "I have nothing more to report," he dipped his head to Spottedstar.

"Cats of the forest," his sleek, speckled brown fur rippled with strength. RiverClan obviously had much more prey than the rest of the Clans. "RiverClan has more than enough reason to lay claim to the river and its shores," yowls of surprise sprung up from WindClan and ShadowClan. But both ThunderClan and SkyClan sat in silence. Spottedstar chose to ignore the cries of defiance. "No other Clans fish in the river. Thus, why waste valuable hunting time patrolling what you don't use? We see it fit that each Clan give the portion of the land bordering the river to RiverClan," a snort of contempt rose from the throat of Bearstar and he looked about ready to break the sacred truce of the full moon. Guststar flexed his claws, though Ivythorn thought most of the WindClan warriors didn't look well enough to fight. Finchstar looked furious, but was able to control herself better. The only cat who remained calm was the ShadowClan leader, Heatherstar; after all, ShadowClan did not border the river.

"Quiet," Spottedstar hissed and lashed his tail. "You will oblige, or RiverClan will take the land by force," he snarled. Ivythorn felt rage build up inside her, and she was shocked by what the WindClan leader did next.

"Spottedstar," Guststar rose from his seat, addressing the RiverClan leader with a dip of his head. Though his claws were still unsheathed, he said respectfully "WindClan will give you the land on either side of the gorge, where the land meets the river. That is all," he sat back down.

"How are we going to get over there then, without the use of the bridge?"

"You can swim, can't you?" Guststar said innocently. Spottedstar's expression was one of anger at being belittled in front of what he saw as a sea of inferiors, but he stayed silent. Quietly and unbothered by what was taking place around her, Heatherstar stood up.

"ShadowClan has four new apprentices, Graypaw, Leopardpaw, Brackenpaw, and Featherpaw," she let the muttering of approval die down completely until she continued. "Graypaw has chosen to walk the path of the medicine cats, mentored by Antspeckle. On a darker note, Lichenstone died recently, due to greencough. She led her Clan well, through grave battles, and hunger. ShadowClan will miss her dearly," _yeah, once they stop trying to steal territory from the other Clans,_ though Ivythorn knew they hadn't attempted anything like that for many moons. She gazed up at the assembled leaders. Guststar, the oldest leader, probably would have known the old she-cat best besides Heatherstar. He bowed his head in sorrow. "Finchstar, what is there to report in ThunderClan?"

"ThunderClan is doing well, despite the harsh changes in the weather. We have a new queen, Hollyclaw, who moved to the nursery just a few days ago. Also, Dappleheart has had her kits- two toms. They will be a valuable addition to our Clan," she gazed out at the cluster of cats, and at her fellow leaders. Ivythorn noticed she did not meet Spottedstar's challenging eyes. "Now, if none of the leaders have anything more to say, I dismiss this Gathering." Spottedstar glared once more at Bearstar and Finchstar before he leapt down into the crowd of his own cats. The RiverClan cats stalked out of the clearing with their tails held high. Ivythorn saw that Spottedstar had only brought warriors. _He was prepared for battle, _she thought.

"ShadowClan, go!" Heatherstar commanded her cats. The ShadowClan deputy, a dark-striped, golden tabby tom named Beesting, led the eerily silent cats away from the hollow. His leader shared a few words with Finchstar before she padded after her Clan.

Bearstar walked briskly away from ThunderClan's leader, as if he couldn't bear to be in her presence. _It's not our fault _you _attacked us!_ Ivythorn wanted to say, but knew better than to criticize the massive tom's actions. He would probably end up killing her.

Slowly, the WindClan leader hopped carefully onto each descending stone from the top of the rock. Ivythorn could see the effects of age appearing in the ragged tom's unsure movements.

Lastly, Finchstar leapt down from the top of the stone. They'd been the first to arrive, and the last to leave. Swiftly, Finchstar gathered her patrol of nine cats. They made haste leaving the hollow. Who knew how soon Spottedstar would carry out his plan?

"Do you think I can hunt on the way back?" Ivythorn hadn't realized that Tawnypaw, the only apprentice in the group, had fallen into step beside her.

"I think that Finchstar would feel better knowing that you had a warrior with you, Tawnypaw," the pale ginger she-cat hardly looked downcast, and instead stared hopefully at Ivythorn through huge amber eyes. "Fine, I'll ask your mentor," she scooted up the line of ThunderClan cats until she stood at her father's side.

"Lizardtail, do you mind if Tawnypaw and I go hunting?" he glanced once at Finchstar, then back at his daughter.

"Fine, but don't stray too far from camp. And stay together," Ivythorn nodded her thanks and fell back into place with Tawnypaw.

"Yes, but we can't go too far from camp, and we have to hunt _together_," Ivythorn wasn't sure that the smaller she-cat had heard; she was already dashing towards a particularly dark section of wood, in the opposite direction of the camp. "Tawnypaw, come back!" she was sure to call to the apprentice when she was out of earshot of the rest of the Clan. A moment of silent padding through the undergrowth, and Ivythorn started to get nervous. Finchstar would never let her have an apprentice if she lost one in hardly ten heartbeats of having her under her supervision. A rustling from up ahead made Ivythorn stop cold, sliding out her claws. "Tawnypaw?"

A dark figure leaped out, and Ivythorn was about to slice her claws through the apprentice. "Ivythorn, look what I caught!" Tawnypaw could hardly get the muffled sentence out through the mouthful of fur she held. Ivythorn froze with a stunned look on her face. She'd caught a rabbit!

"Wow, great job!" she praised the young cat and commented "This will feed the queens for a day!" the young she-cat glowed, and she visibly puffed out her chest. "How did you manage this?"

"I scented it briefly as we were leaving. Now that I've caught it, we can get back to camp!" _But we just got here!_ Ivythorn wanted to complain.

"After I catch something first, I don't want to be showed up by an apprentice," Ivythorn let an edge of amusement creep into her voice. She didn't want Tawnypaw to believe that she was stuck-up or selfish.

But Ivythorn saw the amused expression be returned in the apprentice's eyes. Carefully, Ivythorn turned the other way, sniffing the air and blocking out the mouthwatering scent of rabbit. _Mouse!_ A scuffling in the bushes confirmed Ivythorn's suspicions. She crept forward, under a fern bushel, and past a bramble thicket. There, nosing around the roots of an ash tree, was a dormouse. Noticing how easily it could escape into its nest, which was visible just one tail-length away, Ivythorn positioned herself in between it and the mouse. Then, she leapt.

Unfortunately, the mouse saw the cat's shadow cast against the silvery moonlight, and darted towards the hole. But Ivythorn landed quick enough so that she could reach a lightning-fast paw out and pin the dormouse down into the frozen ground. Then, she nipped at the back of its neck and picked it up in her teeth.

"Good catch, let's go," Ivythorn hadn't even noticed the ginger cat's arrival.

"Okay," Ivythorn and the apprentice raced back towards the camp. The Clan stared hungrily at the rabbit in Tawnypaw's teeth. After spitting her mouse out onto the dwindling fresh-kill pile, Ivythorn praised the apprentice. "She scented it, caught it, and dragged it back here all by herself." Lizardtail purred at his apprentice.

"Not bad," he murmured, loud enough for Ivythorn to hear. It came to her very abruptly that she'd never before been praised by her father. Suddenly, she didn't want to be here anymore, and padded dismally towards the warriors' den. She saw Weedstripe and Fogwhisker in separate nests. After a moment of considering whether or not Fogwhisker had left that wide-open space for her or his sister, she crawled in beside him, closed her eyes, and let the enrapturing comfort of sleep wash away all her jealousy.

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><p>AN: And for those of you who are trying to figure out the secret message in the hunting scene, there really is none. Just filler... but fun to write!<p> 


	16. Chapter 15: The Apprentice

AN: This is the first time I've not alternated between main characters. It just kind of fit with the storyline to do it from Ivythorn's POV instead of Weedstripe's. Plus I was getting a little tired of writing about the dark forest and what not. SPOILER- features one-on-one Ivy vs. River

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><p>Ivythorn stretched in her nest, yawning broadly. She was the last warrior to awaken, and around her, the air was chilly with lack of body heat. Bounding out of the warriors' den, she saw that it was almost sunhigh. <em>How did I manage to sleep-in so late?<em>

"Ivythorn, there you are!" Torneye was calling to her from across the clearing. She raced to him.

"What can I do for you?"

"You can go with Fogwhisker and Patchpaw on a hunting patrol," he answered. After Hollyclaw had moved into the nursery, Patchpaw had been given to Fogwhisker as his apprentice for the remaining part of her training. After her kits have been born, Hollyclaw said that she would help part-time to train Patchpaw.

"Alright," Ivythorn dashed off to where the two cats were sitting by the miniscule fresh-kill pile, eating a mouse and sharing tongues. "Hey," Ivythorn meowed a quick greeting. "Torneye sent for me to join a hunting patrol,"

Fogwhisker licked his lips before answering. "Great, we can leave right now," he flicked his tail for his new apprentice to follow and the trio padded swiftly out of camp. Trees and bushes whizzed by as they sprinted through the forest. The warriors could see that Patchpaw was tiring, and they slowed their pace. After running for awhile, they arrived in a small clearing. Patchpaw was breathing heavily.

"Do I have to do that every day?" she asked, then muttered "Hollyclaw never ran that fast." Ivythorn could see the hurt on Fogwhisker's face. The little apprentice must have picked up on it too, for next she said quickly "But I'll get used to it. I actually like running fast," her breathing was evening out. Fogwhisker brushed off the hurt and continued.

"Okay, Patchpaw, I'll be assessing your hunting skills today, which means that I am going to follow you around and critique you mentally while you catch prey. Okay?" Patchpaw looked flustered, excited, and nervous all at once.

"Okay," she said unsure, and padded off slowly in the opposite direction from which they had come.

"I'll hunt over here," Ivythorn darted quietly through several clumps of bracken. She arrived in another, much smaller clearing. The ground was carpeted by dead leaves from the barren beech trees up above, and was dusted with a thin layer of frost. The sky was gray, and Ivythorn could smell snow. She fluffed up her fur as a cold breeze rustled the ferns around her. Behind the acrid scent of thunderpath it brought was hidden the faintest smell of vole.

Ivythorn followed the smell on silent paws. She could also smell ShadowClan, and she was startled by the rush of a monster. She'd never caught much near this border, let alone in leaf-bare. But there, up ahead, and as plain as the sun in greenleaf, was the small, dusky fur of a vole. Anticipating the meal to come, Ivythorn leapt before she thought. Brushing against a fern leaf as she jumped, the vole was aware of her presence and made haste to escape into the safety of the undergrowth.

"Mouse-dung!" she muttered under her breath.

"Well, I'll say," Ivythorn whipped around to find Fogwhisker and Patchpaw standing behind her. Ivythorn's fur felt hot with embarrassment.

"Sorry, Patchpaw," she murmured. "I'll go hunt somewhere else," she headed towards the border with RiverClan. The fishy scent was strong in the air and Ivythorn had a hard time picking up the scent of a water vole. Pinpointing the scent under a droopy willow tree, and seeing a small, furry body scuffling amongst the leaves, she crept forward until the vole was just beyond the roots.

Ivythorn pounced square on the vole, crushing it under her weight. Then, she quickly killed it off with a bite to its throat. "Gotcha," she murmured with satisfaction.

"I wouldn't be so happy about that," Ivythorn froze. This voice did not belong to one of her Clanmates. A white tom gazed at her with piercing blue eyes. Next to him, a sturdily-built brown-and-white she-cat stood threateningly. Seemingly effortlessly, she drove her long claws into the frozen ground. "We're just going to take it anyway,"

Ivythorn wasn't about to let these two fish-faces take her catch. She fluffed up her fur even more and unsheathed her claws.

"ThunderClan doesn't recognize you're authority in our own territory. I have a right to drive you off,"

The tom snorted. "Only if you can," he taunted, and unsheathed his claws.

Ivythorn gave a battle-cry, seemingly attempting to intimidate her opponents, but actually calling to her Clanmates. She knew she could not take on two RiverClan warriors at once, unless if she had some kind of advantage, such as height. But she had no good fortune to have such a game-changer like that, so she would just have to hold her own until more ThunderClan cats arrived.

She ducked a rather clumsy blow by the she-cat and raked her claws along her back leg. Her exposed flank was quickly covered by her accomplice. The snow-white tom leaped at the lone ThunderClan warrior. Ivythorn aimed a blow at the tom's outstretched paws and knocked him off balance midair. His Clanmate had recovered and was now racing at Ivythorn, who was bowled over. Ivythorn struggled under the she-cat's grip. Was she going to finish her off here? She was clawing at Ivythorn's exposed belly. Ivythorn got loose a paw and struck out at the she-cat's muzzle, but as Ivythorn was picking her self up from the ground, the tom bowled her over once again. The two tumbled down the slope and dangerously near the river.

She was dizzy, and she could guess that he was too, since he was so easily shaken from her. But she found the balance she needed to raise up on her hind paws.

"Have a nice swim," she called out to the RiverClan tom as she brought down all her weight on him, knocking him into the river's ice-cold depths. The she-cat raced down to the edge of the river.

"Blizzardstorm!" Fear marked her voice. The white tom was lost for a moment in the dizzying torrent of raging water, but reappeared downstream, swimming for the RiverClan side of the river.

"RiverClan scum," Ivythorn turned and saw a patrol of her own Clanmates standing at the top of the hillside.

The brown-and-white she-cat peered at the new arrivals through narrowed green eyes. "You win this battle," she dived into the river and swam easily across its girth.

The patrol found Fogwhisker and Patchpaw for her, and the three returned to camp with two mice and Ivythorn's hard-won water vole.

When they got back, the fresh-kill pile had almost been returned to normal size. Almost. "Patchpaw, why don't you bring the elders the water vole I caught," Ivythorn suggested.

After glancing questioningly at Fogwhisker, and having her mentor nod his permission, she obliged. "Alright,"

"In the mean time, you should get those wounds checked out," Fogwhisker meowed. Ivythorn shrugged in return and started to pad toward the medicine cats' den, but stopped halfway when she realized Fogwhisker wasn't coming with her.

"Are you coming?"

"I think I'll wait for Patchpaw. We might have time to train later," Ivythorn was taken aback and stood there for a few moments just staring. Didn't he love her? He had seemed to love her until Patchpaw became his apprentice. _Patchpaw…_ Ivythorn rolled the name over in her head. Was it possible that Fogwhisker was in love with his apprentice? _Anything's possible,_ but Ivythorn didn't want to believe that. Besides, Patchpaw was much too young for him. But the unlikelihood of what Ivythorn feared didn't wash away the fact that as of right now, Fogwhisker would rather be with his apprentice than her.

Ivythorn padded into the medicine cats' den with her head bowed.

"Ivythorn?" Mistwind called out from behind a fern screen. Her head popped around the corner as Ivythorn looked up. "I heard you got in trouble with RiverClan, huh? Don't worry; I'll have you fixed up quick enough," Ivythorn had no doubt that the light gray she-cat could heal her body, but she did doubt that she could aid her with her problem with Fogwhisker. No, this was one battle she would have to fight herself.

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><p>AN: If you're thinking that Ivythorn is just a little tiny bit of a Mary Sue... then I suppose you're right. I'll have to fix that... *off to work on storyline*<p> 


	17. Chapter 16: The Mission

AN: Oh man, this is a really short chapter. It chronicles one of many of Weedstripe's frightening experiences in the Dark Forest. Things are about to get interesting... ;0

BTW: Sorry about the time it took me to update... you know how school works- it took me a while to finish a project, then my bro had a presentation he was prepping for and I couldn't get any time on the computer (cuz my dad hogs the other one), and then I had cram for a chapter test in geometry. So, I'll just shut up now and let you read ;)

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><p>A dense fog swirled around Weedstripe's paws. The tall pine trees swayed with an unfelt breeze, and a sickly-looking river swam by, its depths slimy with decay. And everywhere he turned, a certain smell of dead undergrowth caught in his throat.<p>

The only thought that ran through Weedstripe's head was that he had to find a way out.

He'd come here every night since that skirmish with RiverClan. Each time, the other Weedstripe told him the same thing. That he was proud of him. Admired his strength. Said it was just like how he used to be. Then Weedstripe would race through the forest until he woke up, cold and shaking, longing for Hollyclaw's or Ivythorn's warmth next to him.

"Greetings, Weedstripe," Weedstripe whipped around to come face-to-face with a set of glimmering amber eyes. "Getting bored? I promise tonight will be different," he hissed sinisterly. Weedstripe wasn't prepared for being thrown backwards, scraped along the ground like a piece of prey being carried by a bumbling kit. Terror gripped him like cold claws. Or perhaps that was just the cold claws of the Dark Forest cat pressing them against his neck, his paw making it hard for Weedstripe to breathe.

Weedstripe swiped clumsily at his foe as he gasped for air. The other Weedstripe swung his head to avoid the blow, and let up the pressure on Weedstripe's throat. Sensing the weak spot, Weedstripe pushed his enemy off of him with his back legs. The other Weedstripe was propelled a couple of tail-lengths back. As they both stood and faced each other, Weedstripe sucked in several breaths.

"You are a strong fighter. You used my weakness to your advantage, and got back up to face me. You are ready to fulfill your destiny,"

Weedstripe pulled back from his enemy adversary sharply. "What destiny?"

"This whole time, I have been testing you. And might I say that you have been a most pleasing apprentice to watch. Your skill in battle is impeccable, and you have amazing speed, defense, and strength. All of these must be balanced if you are to complete the task I have set for you," for a moment, Weedstripe was almost flattered. Then he remembered that any cat that now lived in the Place of No Stars was a cat that had no respect for the warrior code.

"What task?" finally, Weedstripe's chest ceased heaving as he caught his breath. He puffed out his chest challengingly.

"Kill Bearstar," Weedstripe's eyes widened. "Think about it, Weedstripe. He is a cat who allows his warriors to kill. Don't you want to stop his bloodlust? Remember that it was him who was responsible for letting Crouchshadow kill Pondripple. Avenge her. If not me, then make her proud," the other Weedstripe's eyes were the last thing that the ThunderClan warrior saw before he awakened.

He was in the warriors' den, safe and away from the Dark Forest.

_'You are never safe from me, Weedstripe.'_

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><p>AN: Hope you liked- please review! I'd like more feedback for later chapters!<p> 


	18. Chapter 17: Whiskers of Fog

AN: Hmm, my Ivythorn chapters seem to be a little bit longer than my Weedstripe chapters... no matter what you think, I'm not sexist! (much ;)) This chapter has action, romance and jealously, a little like high school.

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><p>Ivythorn glanced wistfully at Fogwhisker. He was sharing a skinny squirrel with Patchpaw. She <em>hmphed<em> and padded into the medicine cats' den. She had to get her poultices changed.

"Ivythorn, there you are. I was just about to get you," Mistwind greeted her. Behind her, Ivythorn heard coughing.

"Toadleap's still sick?" the senior warrior had been diagnosed with whitecough.

"Yes, Woodflower fears it may turn into greencough. That is unless we can find more catmint." Mistwind quickly removed the old poultice. "Hmmm, that's looking good. I don't think you'll need a new poultice," Ivythorn felt the first ray of happiness fill her in a long while. "But no fighting, or hunting. You can start up again at dawn tomorrow," Ivythorn nodded her thanks and padded out of the medicine cats' den. As she wandered out into the camp's clearing, she was bowled over by a small ball of fluff.

"Gotcha!" Ferretkit cried out in triumph. Ivythorn heard snarling coming from behind her, and whipped around to find a fluffed-up Needlekit.

"Oh no, I'm trapped!" Ivythorn feigned dying as she was jumped on by the two kits.

"Yay! We killed the badger and saved the Clan!" at the word 'badger', the elders looked up from where they were washing and gazed up sharply from their shrew. Seeing that it was just kit-play, the cats in the clearing settled back down. Ivythorn felt hot with embarrassment, and was tempted to apologize, when Ferretkit pushed her back down. "You're supposed to be dead, and dead badgers don't move,"

"Yeah, well this badger is breaking that rule to notify the kits that she isn't supposed to be fighting, by orders of the medicine cats," she picked herself off the frosty ground, much to the kits' dismay.

"Can you teach us to hunt?" Needlekit asked.

"Yeah, we want to feed the Clan!" Ferretkit pointed out enthusiastically. After a moment of consideration, Ivythorn assumed it wouldn't hurt anyone to show off just a little, despite being told otherwise by Mistwind.

"Alright," Ivythorn crouched down, focusing on a pile of leaves bunched up on the wall of the camp. Slowly, she crept forward, using the tree stump by the apprentices' den as cover, and waited until the right moment to leap.

Suddenly, she was transported into an open field. She could tell that it was early-morning, and up above, the thin layer of clouds peeled off into several whisker-thin strips of fog in the rising sun. The fog became a vaguely cat-shaped cloud. Whiskers of fog…

"Fogwhisker," Ivythorn breathed. Suddenly, red streaks crossed the sky. Then, just as soon as the vision invaded her mind, it cleared, and she was crouched behind the old tree stump. It appeared that no time had passed. Ferretkit and Needlekit still watched intently. She leapt at the leaf pile, and landed square-on, despite having her mind swimming with the knowledge that she had just received a message from StarClan.

"Sorry kits, I have to go. I just remembered something I have to tell Mistwind," the kits groaned.

"Will you teach us afterward?"

"Well, technically I'm not supposed to teach you how to hunt or fight until you're apprenticed…"

"Aww," the kits groaned disappointedly.

Ivythorn didn't feel like arguing. "Ask Weedstripe," she mewed as she saw her brother padding through the thorn tunnel. She padded swiftly back into the medicine cats' den and beckoned with her tail for Mistwind to speak with her privately.

"I didn't expect you to be back so soon," Mistwind commented. "What can I do for you?"

"I had a vision from StarClan," she blurted.

"But only medicine cats and sometimes leaders have visions," Mistwind replied, confused. "How do you know it was from StarClan?"

Ivythorn opened her mouth, but did she really know? No, she'd seen no starry warriors there. "I-I'm not sure," she stuttered.

"What happened?" suddenly, Ivythorn didn't want to be there.

"I was in a field, and I looked up and the clouds formed whiskers of fog, and they combined to form a cat-shape. It was Fogwhisker," she mewed. "Then, red streaks crossed the sky like claw marks. They must have been telling me that…" in a heartbeat, it all clicked. "Oh StarClan," she hurried out of the den, Mistwind calling to her in confusion. "Fogwhisker's in trouble!"

"I'll come with you!" Mistwind shouted as she raced after Ivythorn. "You do realize that you're disobeying my orders not to fight, and that we never told anyone where we were going?"

Ivythorn acknowledged the gray she-cat as they were running. "Yup," Ivythorn racked her brain to come up with where Fogwhisker might be. But she didn't have long to think; a yowl sounded just past the training hollow. Ivythorn signaled with her tail for the ThunderClan medicine cat to follow as she veered towards the sound at full speed.

When they reached the scuffle, Fogwhisker was being pinned down by two RiverClan warriors, and Patchpaw was facing off against a much older apprentice. Screeching, Ivythorn threw herself at one of the warriors holding Fogwhisker down. The light gray tom glared at her with piercing green eyes as he struggled under her grip. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that Fogwhisker was now on top of the other RiverClan warrior, and Mistwind was throwing surprisingly well-aimed blows at the RiverClan apprentice, while Patchpaw clawed at her ear. The apprentice soon bolted towards the border.

"Get off our territory. Now. And tell Spottedstar that the next time you cross our border, we will do more than chase you off," he threatened. Once freed, the two RiverClan cats dashed after the apprentice.

"Thank you for showing up," Patchpaw heaved. Her shoulder was scratched, her ear torn, and blood welled from one of her paws where it appeared she'd lost a claw.

"We have to get back to camp," Mistwind said. Fogwhisker murmured thanks to Ivythorn as she let him lean on her shoulder. He looked more beat up than his apprentice, but she didn't let him walk into camp. She had to talk to him first.

After notifying Mistwind that they wouldn't be very long, Ivythorn turned to Fogwhisker. "StarClan sent me to you," she meowed. He looked at her with mild surprise, but said nothing. "You've been ignoring me,"

"No. I've just been busy," he responded, looking away, as though shamed.

"It's okay. It doesn't matter any more. I know you have an apprentice, and I can respect that. But maybe you'd like to hunt with me once your better?"

Instead of answering the question, he raised one of his own. "Are you jealous?" he asked, looking Ivythorn with an intensity she hadn't seen from him before.

"What… no," she assured him. But it was an empty assurance. She _was_ jealous.

"Then why are you acting like this?" he asked. Ivythorn was taken aback.

"Like what? You were avoiding _me_, not the other way around!"

"I can tell when you're lying. You _are_ jealous! Admit it!"

"I'm not jealous!"

"You sure are acting like it!" Fogwhisker's voice was getting louder, fueled by anger.

"Maybe it's because I love you!" Ivythorn's eyes widened and Fogwhisker froze. She hadn't meant to tell him like that.

"You don't love me…" Fogwhisker hung his head.

"I do."

"No…" Ivythorn brushed against him. He picked up his head.

"Yes, I _do_," their eyes met. Hers betrayed her panic at the fact that he had not returned her love.

"I love you too," in that instant, all was forgotten, all jealousy left and all anger deteriorated, and the two cats walked into camp, tails entwined.

He mewed before padding into the medicine cats' den "And I _would_ like to go hunting with you."

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><p>AN: Aww! Hope you liked!<p> 


	19. Chapter 18: Lostholly

AN: I won't give away anything... just review!

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><p>This was too soon. Something was wrong. It'd hardly been two moons since Hollyclaw moved to the nursery, and she was already having her kits.<p>

The medicine cats wouldn't let Weedstripe inside.

He was pacing the camp clearing, worriedly, ignoring all comments that it would be okay. Nobody would know for sure until Hollyclaw walked out of there telling him so.

"Weedstripe? Are you okay? It'll all turn out fine," his mother mewed. But Weedstripe ignored her like he ignored everyone else. His belly clenched as his mate yowled once more into the air. He heard startled squeaks from Ferretkit and Needlekit, and saw Dappleheart shoo them outside. He swiftly padded over to her.

"What's going on?" he demanded. She shook her head.

"I-I don't know what's wrong. There's so much blood…" she whispered. Fear overcame Weedstripe, and he barged into the nursery. The scene before him made him freeze. Hollyclaw lay on her side, chest barely moving, breaths barely stirring the moss underneath her. Blood drenched her rear end. Two kits lay dead in the nest, a third one just being freed from its slimy pouch by Mistwind, barely moving as it lay in the moss. Woodflower stroked Hollyclaw with her tail, whispering something that Weedstripe couldn't hear. She looked up and beckoned him with her tail. He scooted over to his mate, finding it hard to make his legs move. They felt like jelly, like he would faint.

"Weedstripe…" she whispered. "I love you so much,"

"I love you too, Hollyclaw…" Weedstripe said with anguish. She couldn't leave him….

"I've named the dead tom Darkkit, and the dead she-cat Marshkit. I know you'll never know them for real… but maybe you'll see them when you go to StarClan…" her speech was beginning to slur. Weedstripe could see that it was effort just for her to stay alive. "Name her Lostkit… so that she will be Lostholly… and that you'll always remember me,"

"I'll remember you always, love," he forced a purr out of his throat as Hollyclaw slipped away into the depths of StarClan. He closed his eyes and wanted so much to be with her.

"Weedstripe?" for a second, he thought that his wishing her to come back had come true. "Weedstripe?" the voice repeated. He realized that it was Dappleheart. He heard Echowhisper as well as the two ThunderClan medicine cats leave the nursery.

"It wasn't her time…" he murmured back.

"I know. This event is very rare,"

"If it's so rare, why did it have to take Hollyclaw?" he asked. He knew that the ginger-patched she-cat had no answer to that question.

"I can nurse the kit," she mewed. He looked at her, a new feeling of numbness overcoming him.

"I'm sure Hollyclaw would appreciate that. Thank you."

"What did you name her?"

"Lostkit," Weedstripe didn't want to be reminded of his mate's awful death, but it was what she'd wanted. He had to respect that.

"She looks just like you," she meowed. But Weedstripe and Dappleheart both knew that she looked like a tiny copy of Hollyclaw, not him.

Lostkit cried out.

"I'll have to feed her," Dappleheart determined. Weedstripe padded out of the nursery. Many cats offered their sympathy, but Weedstripe ignored them all. All he was aware of was Hollyclaw's body being carried carefully into the camp's heart and set down in between the two kits that he'd lost. Darkkit and Marshkit looked just like him, only with short fur, and Marshkit had a small patch of white on her chest.

The day passed on with Weedstripe staring at Hollyclaw's unmoving body. He closed her once-beautiful, now dull, green eyes. Nearing twilight, Finchstar called a Clan meeting.

"Today we lost three warriors," she began. "It was an unexpected event, and Hollyclaw wasn't ready to die, much less her kits. It has been a tragic day for ThunderClan," Finchstar gazed up at the dusky sky, watching as one-by-one, stars appeared. "May StarClan light her path on her way to their hunting grounds."

The Clan gathered around the three bodies. Closest, Weedstripe, Ivythorn, her parents, Hazelstorm and Foxnose, and her mentor, Torneye. Weedstripe buried his muzzle in her fur, feeling the last threads of warmth leave her body. Her scent still wreathed him, but it was slowly fading. He knew that it would be stale before they had to bury her.

"I know you will take care of our kits in StarClan," he murmured softly into her ear, even though he knew she couldn't hear him. "Tell them about me," he purred almost happily as a soft pelt brushed against him, and that familiar, flower scent wreathed him.

A voice breathed in his ear. _"I'll always watch over you."_


	20. Chapter 19: A Battle Averted

AN: This one has a lot of romantic qualities, as well as some more mundane settings of the camp, excluding of course the scene at the end.

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><p>The dawn was still yet to come, but Ivythorn had a sudden urge to move. She roused herself, joints stiff with cold. Was this what it was like to be an elder? She sighed as she gazed once more at her lost friend. Glancing over at her brother, she saw him still whispering phrases into the ear of his beloved, as if she could hear him. She slowly got up, careful not to disturb the cats still mourning, and padded into the warriors' den, finding Fogwhisker and Minnowclaw curled up tightly in an outside nest and joining them, resting her tail over her nose.<p>

Sleep crept up on her, enveloping her in its sweet warmth. No dreams touched her mind.

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><p>When she woke up, Minnowclaw had left the nest, but Fogwhisker still lay beside her. She drank in his scent and brushed her tail over his flank as she left the den. Weedstripe was the only cat still crouched by Hollyclaw, and he was still murmuring in her ear. He didn't seem to be prompted by the elders preparing to carry the three bodies to their resting places. It wasn't until dawn was breaking when Finchstar announced that the bodies would be buried that Weedstripe moved.<p>

Ivythorn didn't know how to comfort him. Her brother padded over to her, his eyes reduced to a dull green by fatigue. "You should get some sleep," she suggested. To her surprise, Weedstripe muttered an acknowledgement and turned towards the warriors' den, disappearing inside. Ivythorn quickly groomed her ruffled fur and padded into the nursery. The warm, milky scent filled her nose, and she couldn't help but _purr_ as she thought of the days when she and Weedstripe were kits, mewling and playing and bouncing all over the camp. It all seemed so simple back then. No death plagued the camp while they were kits.

"Can I help you Ivythorn?" Ivythorn shook herself from her reverie and looked at Dappleheart. She was nursing her two kits, as well as Lostkit. She couldn't help but sigh at the sight of the tiny she-kit scramble all over her caretaker's belly.

"No, I just wanted to check on Lostkit," she was startled by the close resemblance of Lostkit to Hollyclaw. When Lostkit ceased feeding to gaze at the new arrival, Ivythorn was shocked at how even their eyes were almost exact replicas.

"Who are you?" the little kit asked.

"I'm Ivythorn, your aunt," Lostkit gazed at her intently.

"I'm Lostkit. But I think you already knew that," Ivythorn _purr_ed at the intelligence of this kit. She would be a grand warrior someday.

For most of the day Ivythorn spent training with the apprentices. She watched from the side as Redpaw, who was her temporary apprentice for the day, side-tackled Patchpaw with sheathed claws.

"You have to be faster than that, Patchpaw!" Fogwhisker called out to his apprentice. But Ivythorn didn't think that she heard him, for she kept on covering her brother with constant blows to the ears and legs. "No, no, no," Fogwhisker said, shaking his head. "Stop!" he called. When they didn't oblige, he padded out into the midst of the battle and was almost rolled over by the two senior apprentices, who were practicing advanced moves.

Slowly, the realization dawned on Patchpaw and Redpaw that Fogwhisker was standing over them, and they removed themselves from the other. Ivythorn could see they were both panting. They'd gotten away with themselves, and it appeared that they'd both unsheathed their claws near the end of their tussle, for Redpaw had several shallow scratches on his forelegs, and Patchpaw had one long scratch down her shoulder.

"You could've been seriously hurt," Fogwhisker scolded both apprentices. "Back to the camp, both of you," Ivythorn could see the anger in his eyes, and in the vexed twitch of his tail. As they were heading back to camp, Ivythorn ran her tail over the length of his spine.

"They ought to stay away from each other. Whatever sparked that aggression, we can't let it happen near the elders or kits," Ivythorn said. He nodded in agreement.

"Alright, so Patchpaw gets to pick ticks out of the elders' fur and Redpaw gets to check everyone's nest for thorns?"

"Thorns?" Ivythorn asked.

"Yes, I overheard both Cloudpaw and Birchleaf talking about how they'd been woken up by a thorn prick during the night," he mewed.

"Alright then, Redpaw gets to check for more thorns," Ivythorn concurred.

"Hello, Finchstar," Fogwhisker dipped his head to his underfed leader. She looked up from her scrappy mouse and at the two warriors.

"Fogwhisker, Ivythorn," the ThunderClan leader nodded to each warrior in turn. "Can I do something for you?"

"We'd like to assign Patchpaw to tick duty and Redpaw to nest-checking duty,"

Finchstar narrowed her eyes, and then sighed. "What happened?"

"We aren't sure why, but while Patchpaw and Redpaw were training, they unsheathed their claws, and didn't stop when Fogwhisker told them to," Ivythorn responded for Fogwhisker.

Finchstar nodded seriously. "Very well. I see why you want to separate them. I'll tell Gorseheart and Lizardtail not to assign their apprentices to either of those duties. Besides, I feel like Tawnypaw and Cloudpaw are about ready to become warriors, and they'll need not be distracted for any reason." Ivythorn didn't know why her Clan leader would share that information with the two youngest warriors, who didn't have any family relation with the two apprentices, but she didn't question it.

As Finchstar dismissed her and Fogwhisker, she retrieved the last piece of fresh-kill and decided to bring it to the nursery while Fogwhisker informed the two apprentices of their consequences.

As Ivythorn padded into the nursery, Echowhisper commented quietly "Hello, Ivythorn. Oh, I see you brought mouse!" Ivythorn dropped the ragged creature at the feet of the silvery queen.

"Yes," she indicated with the tip of her tail. "Sleeping?" Ivythorn saw amusement flicker in the eldest queen's bright, blue eyes.

"Took them half the day, but they finally agreed to," Ivythorn snorted, quietly, with amusement.

"You can have the mouse. There's bound to be something else- fresher- when her and her kits wake up," Echowhisper hesitated, looking down at the scrap of meat before her. It would hardly feed the queen and her kits.

"Not until there's something for Dappleheart. She's got three kits to feed," Ivythorn nodded respectfully to her older Clanmate, and left the nursery. Fogwhisker was washing in a thin ray of sunlight. She sat next to him, pricking her ears to hear the sounds of the camp; the obvious washing and licking of Fogwhisker, the gentle breathing of some cat in the warriors' den, and the muttering of the elders' as they discussed battles past. All around, the rustling of wind in the trees and the brambles ringing the hollow, birdsong harmonizing as their choir roosted within their thorny protection.

"Ivythorn?" Fogwhisker's voice broke into the quiet concentration of Ivythorn's mind. But she wasn't at all displeased by it. Fogwhisker's voice was so soothing to her ears.

"Yes?" she responded, reveling in the sun's rays. The patch of light had spread across the sky, tearing holes in the once-thick layer of clouds that had concealed the blueness up above and engulfing the camp in its warmth. The promise of snow was no more… at least, not for today.

It seemed like forever until Fogwhisker responded a quiet "nevermind" and sat next to her, curling his tail comfortingly around her. She _purr_ed and he _purr_ed back into her ear. She rubbed her head against his shoulder and could hear his steady heartbeat.

Ivythorn felt more at home than she'd ever felt before in the camp.

The pair was roused by Torneye's calling to them.

"For StarClan's sake, he has got to be the most unromantic cat around," Fogwhisker mused. Ivythorn let out a _mrrow_ of amusement.

A small gathering of cats ringed the ThunderClan deputy. Ivythorn assumed that the hunting patrol was not back yet.

"I will lead the sunhigh patrol," Torneye said. "Ivythorn, Fogwhisker, you two will come with me," Fogwhisker stroked Ivythorn's spine with his tail. "Hazelstorm, Russetwing, and Birchleaf, you will be the hunting patrol after the dawn hunting patrol comes back," Torneye swished his tail, signaling for Ivythorn and Fogwhisker to follow him out of the camp. They obliged and the three exited through the thorn tunnel, heading towards the SkyClan border near the river. About halfway there, they met up with the hunting patrol. They greeted Foxnose, Minnowclaw, and Weedstripe as they made haste returning to camp.

"What's the hurry?" Torneye asked.

"There's a battle," Weedstripe answered through his mouse. Ivythorn saw Torneye's single amber eye narrow. "Between SkyClan and RiverClan," Weedstripe quickly explained.

"They were pretty close to the border," Foxnose said, voice muffled by a skinny squirrel.

"And they scared a lot of our prey," Minnowclaw mewed. Her shrew looked the plumpest bit of fresh-kill that they'd caught, and Ivythorn made sure to tell her to give it to Dappleheart when the hunting patrol got back to camp as they left, heading towards the now obvious sounds of a distant battle.

"They'd better not cross our border," Fogwhisker hissed. "Or I'll rip their pelts off,"

"No," Torneye said. "We will not fight unless they attack us first," Fogwhisker twitched his whiskers, but said nothing.

The scene of the battle up ahead shocked Ivythorn. The once-beautiful frosty ground was spattered crimson with blood. The unmoving body of one SkyClan warrior stained the ground even thicker with sticky blood. What made it worse was that they had crossed into ThunderClan's territory.

"By StarClan," Torneye whispered, looking exasperatedly up in the air, and raced down the gently sloping hill. "Stop!" he screeched. Few cats took notice, and ever fewer broke apart.

The RiverClan deputy pulled back momentarily. He ordered his cats to stop fighting, if only for the moment.

"Why should we stop," Grass-stripe hissed.

"Because you are now officially trespassing onto ThunderClan territory," both the RiverClan cats and the SkyClan cats looked at each other with amusement in their eyes.

"And I suppose you three are going to stop all of us?" Grass-stripe motioned to his warriors. Ivythorn felt uneasy. If RiverClan attacked them, then no doubt the SkyClan cats, which never ran from a fight, would join in too. She counted about eleven cats total. She recognized three as SkyClan apprentices, but they still could not win against those odds. She glanced at Fogwhisker as Torneye spoke.

"Yes, because we could have reinforcements over here in the blink of an eye. Plus, you are already fatigued- I can see it in the way you stand- and you," he motioned towards the SkyClan cats "I can tell are suffering from grief at the loss of Fanwhisker here. Especially you," he pointed with his tail at one of the apprentices. Ivythorn knew it was Barkpaw, who had been Fanwhisker's apprentice up until today.

She was momentarily angry at Torneye, for the young cat turned tail and ran. She could see anguish in his eyes.

"How dare you?" Quickriver, the mother of Barkpaw, shouted at Torneye. "It wasn't his fault his mentor died!"

"Then whose fault was it?" Torneye retorted. When no cat responded, he continued. "Grass-stripe, take your warriors back to your own territory. You've been defeated in every battle for the river's shores. You're never going to get it," the RiverClan cats bared their teeth, flexed their unsheathed claws, and lashed their tails, all the while hissing. All except Grass-stripe, who just glared a menacing death-stare at Torneye. Ivythorn was surprised when the gray-striped tom backed off, leading his warriors through the river and back into RiverClan territory.

"And now you have no reason to fight," Torneye addressed the SkyClan cats. Slowly, their fur lay back down, and they turned to leave their neighbor's land, but not without their fallen warrior's dead body. "I am truly sorry for your loss," Torneye meowed as they left.

Then finally, as if the forest was still with the wonder about what had happened that day, the leaves ceased rustling, the air stilled, and the world, bloodstained earth and all, fell silently on its knees to the gurgling river.

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><p>AN: Poetic? I think yes.<p>

Think it was cute? Funny? Dark? Happy? I won't know until you REVIEW! ;D


	21. Chapter 20: The Wrath of StarClan

**AN: Sorry for the super long wait... I was unsure about this story. I reread the beginning chapters and made a big decision- I'm going to redo it all. But I will post the rest of the story first.**

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><p>Weedstripe's whiskers twitched impatiently. The cold thrust through his pelt and all the way down to his bones. He was utterly frozen to the spot. The snowy air buffeted his fur and he shivered violently. Up above, the full moon glowed white, and the stars shimmered in a steady rhythm with each other, pulsing with the heartbeats of warriors fallen. Somewhere up there, Hollyclaw watched him. The clouds that dotted the sky sent down flurries of frozen rain in a white, billowing cloud, but nothing could block out the moon. He really hadn't wanted to come here. He had been spending time with his daughter, one of the only luxuries he had left. His parents were too busy and his sister was spending an awful lot of time with her mate.<p>

Silently, Weedstripe pushed away his cold and wondered if _his_ mate would approve of everything he'd done without her. His dreams had been invaded more often after the death of Hollyclaw by the other Weedstripe in the Place of No Stars, and he wondered if she knew he had been going there, and if she was disappointed in his inability to stop going.

"Come on!" Finchstar yowled as she led her Clanmates racing down the steep hillside and into the clearing. Like the past few moons, they were the first to arrive.

It didn't take long until SkyClan showed up, with whom the ThunderClan cats were hesitant to converse with, then RiverClan, which made the situation even worse, then WindClan, and finally ShadowClan, which was led by a rather flustered-looking Heatherstar. Silently, Spottedstar beckoned for the leaders to come to him and whispered something inaudible to them. Then the leaders dispersed, both Finchstar and Bearstar looking rather pleased with whatever the RiverClan leader had said.

Before any of the leaders could start the Gathering, Heatherstar hissed at Guststar, who glared a death-stare back. Eyeing the two quarreling leaders carefully, Finchstar swept her tail around her paws, seated at the very peak of the Great Rock.

"Let's start this Gathering!" Finchstar yowled. "ThunderClan's prey is running well- we have endured yet another leaf-bare! We will fully welcome this coming newleaf as a time to rebuild bonds with other Clans. We hope to maintain the peace," Weedstripe was unsure about his leader's words. He hoped that the other Clans didn't interpret it as a sign of weakness. "Also," she continued. "We are proud to inform you that though Toadleap was infected with whitecough, he fought it off and did well to keep it away from his Clanmates," she nodded to Bearstar. Weedstripe noticed how his leader said nothing about Hollyclaw's death.

"SkyClan," Bearstar started, his deep voice reverberating around the hollow, "Regrets to inform you that one of our warriors, Fanwhisker, has been killed. Webstep has taken over Barkpaw's training. On a lighter note, we have welcomed the birth of Plumheart's kit- Cloverkit- as well as the recent naming of three new warriors. Welcome Flystripe, Dewdrop, and Beetleflight," Weedstripe yowled his approval along with many of the other warriors. He didn't much like Flystripe or Beetleflight, but Dewdrop was nice enough. He'd have to congratulate her after the Gathering. When he looked back at the Great Rock, Bearstar was nodding at Spottedstar, who stepped forward with flattened ears.

"RiverClan admits defeat on our assault of the river's shores. But take heed Clans- we are not weak. In fact, we have moved two of our warriors into the nursery and have welcomed Waspstorm and Berrylight as warriors." The hollow rang with cheers and murmurs of approval, though most were from RiverClan. "RiverClan's prey is already swimming well, and I am sure that it will only swim more fruitfully as we pass into newleaf." The spotted brown tom dipped his head slightly to Guststar.

"WindClan too has welcomed new warriors- Coppertail and Swallowheart." Once more, cheers rang from all Clans, except, curiously, ShadowClan. "And we have also welcomed the birth of four kits to Ripplestorm. Other than that, WindClan has little to report." Heatherstar hissed exasperatedly as she took Guststar's place.

"Mouseheart!" she snarled at the WindClan leader. More than a pawful of surprised shrieks rose from the assembled Clans, and Weedstripe saw the WindClan cats start to bristle. "Admit it to the other Clans- you stole our two kits!" she cried, unsheathing her claws.

"Those kits are as much mine as they are Poppywhisker's," Guststar whispered in reply. All around the hollow, cats gasped. Weedstripe was shocked. Poppywhisker was a ShadowClan queen. It was bad enough that a cat would break the warrior code and have kits with a warrior from another Clan, but this was a Clan _leader_.

"Give us the kits!" Heatherstar yowled. She took one more menacing step toward the WindClan leader. He bristled, his fluffed-out fur buffeted violently in the chilling wind. Weedstripe glanced nervously up at the moon. Still, no clouds touched its silver surface.

Suddenly, a threatening glare turned into a scuffle, and a scuffle turned into a war between the two battling Clans. All around him, ShadowClan fought WindClan, and SkyClan and RiverClan cats fled the scene to their leaders, who were waiting away from the thick of the battle. Weedstripe raced to where Finchstar stood away in the quietest part of the hollow. She summoned the Gathering patrol with her tail.  
>"I'm going to see if I can stop Heatherstar from ripping <em>all<em> of Guststar's fur out," she huffed. "Torneye, come with me. The rest of you stay here," Weedstripe was tempted to follow his leader, but instead obeyed her orders. All of ThunderClan was silent as Finchstar and her deputy made haste through the ongoing fights and leapt up onto the Great Rock, where Guststar had Heatherstar pinned to the rock. Finchstar and Torneye struggled to pull the old tomcat off the ShadowClan leader.

"Look, the moon!" some cat cried from the battlefield. Weedstripe looked up in alarm and was shocked to see the moon shining an unnatural orange-red.

At once, all of the fighting cats joined their peers in silence. A few patches of dark clouds moved over the bloody moon, and the wind yowled in Weedstripe's ears. Suddenly, a loud clash of thunder followed a claw mark that scratched the sky. Then another bang as another band of lightning fell down on the cats in the clearing. Then, all Weedstripe could see was the golden paw of StarClan striking down the warring leaders.


End file.
